Nothing's Changed At All
by Gummiebear411
Summary: 2025, the New Directions kids return to Lima for a wedding of one of their own. It's been years since they've all been in the same room, so, has anything really changed?
1. Artie

I honestly can't believe I'm back in Lima, Ohio of all places. I thought I left this place behind once I graduated high school over ten years ago. Yes, I did come back home from time to time for holidays and random occasions, but I never expected to see myself back here anymore. I was asked by two very important people to attend a special event, so I chalked it up as a loss and flew home for them. I refused to stay with my mom, what thirty year old slept in the same bedroom they had when they were a kid? I was only going to be in town for two days so I rented a room at the Lima Motor Inn. It was a cheap motel, but I needed a place to lay my head at night. I dropped my bags off and waited outside my room for my ride to the dinner I was expected to attend.

"Artie!"

"Hey girl," I excitingly greeted my friend. She and her husband exited the car and helped me in as her husband folded my chair and placed it in the trunk before getting back behind the wheel. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"How was the flight from Santa Barbara?"

Oh yeah, I live in California now. After my first year of college all who was left in New York was Blaine, Kurt, and I. For the first few months it was great, we did all the bro things you could think of. That summer we stayed in New York and did all the touristy things you would think of. When Mercedes' mall tour came to New Jersey all three of us were there for the incredible show. After that it did get a little lonely, until junior year. Blaine got a lead role in a show on Broadway and things just steamrolled from then on. By my last year of college our group grew, Sam came back and Tina transferred to NYU. Once I got my degree in my hand though I was on the next flight out of the city. I loved New York but I felt like I couldn't achieve my dreams there. I was moving on to the west coast. Lucky for me, Mercedes and Mike let me crash at their place until I got my barring.

I thought New York was a hard adjustment, well, Los Angeles was just as hard. In New York I could travel by public transportation, but in LA I didn't have that luxury. The city was known for it's epic traffic so of course everyone drove. I hated relying on someone else to give me a lift to places. I remember begging Mercedes to drive me all the way to Malibu which made her miss an important meeting with her record label. That wasn't the first or last time my friends sacrificed their careers for mine. Mercedes kept reassuring me that since she got a taste of fame and success that it was now my time. That's why I love her, she was always willing to put other people before her. She put Santana on her debut album and they both blew up. Brittany and eventually Mike became her main background dancers and that helped start their careers.

"How you guys feelings about this?" I asked as we drive up to the entrance of the restaurant. "I mean your first loves are marrying each other."

"Artie," Mercedes snapped and whipped her head around to face me. She took a deep breath to calm herself and placed her hand on her pregnant belly. "They came to our wedding and there wasn't an issue, so we are all fine."

"I just find it really awkward," I commented.

"Babe," Mercedes turned to place a hand on her husbands shoulder. "Go get Artie's chair and I'll call my mom to check on Mikyla."

"Sorry," I apologized as her husband got out the car to retrieved my chair from the trunk. "Cedes, I didn't mean anything by what I said."

"I know," she sighed. "It's just a sore subject for him."

"I don't know why," I shrugged my shoulders. "You've been married for six years, with an adorable baby girl at home and another one on the way."

"Sometimes things like this remind us of what could've been," Mercedes enlightened me with her all knowing wisdom. "Babe, let's go."

The three of us walked into Breadstix and couldn't help but laugh. Nothing had changed since high school. The establishment looked the same and I swear some of the wait staff was the same too. Maybe I was just losing my mind, but I don't think I am. Rolling into the place did take me back to the good old days. Simpler times really, back when things were easily solved by singing a song that expressed your feelings. I wish adulthood was like that. If I had an issue at work I needed to express myself properly, not sing my heart out to a Journey song from the 1980's. I wish.

"So," I awkwardly spoke when I realized we were the first people to arrive. "So much for fashionably late. That's what I get for arriving with the old married couple."

"I needed to pee!" Mercedes defended herself. "Until you have a person resting on your bladder, you can't complain."

"Got it," I laughed and spotted the table that was obviously set up for the dinner party. "Do you know who else is supposed to be here?"

"Just us, the bride and groom of course, and the wedding party," Mercedes answered and turned to her husband. "Mike, babe, can you get me a water with a splash of lime?"

"Yes dear," he obliged and kissed her cheek before he tracked down a waiter for the water.

Mike and Mercedes were married, an odd pairing that I still look at with a side eye. The signs were all there though, just look at the first half of senior year. Every time she came back, he was right beside her. We all just blew it off as an odd coincidence not knowing years later it made perfect sense. She flew back to Los Angeles to start her tour and Mike helped choreograph it, the rest as they say, is history. It wasn't an epic love story by any stretch of the imagination but it was theirs to tell. The only thing I can add is that they're good together, for each other. It also helps that they make the cutest fucking kids.

When I moved to LA in 2017, I was in for a big shock. A lot if things had changed. The solid couples you expected were no more. People were breaking up and exploring new things all around me. I think the idea of the real world shocked the hell out of a lot of us. Rachel was filming the last season of her show, Mercedes was recoding her sophomore CD and I was a struggling director. Santana and Brittany lived out here too, but moved to Chicago a year or so later. Mike had finished college the year before and packed all his things and moved to the west. It was a mini McKinley reunion but we knew things weren't the same. We were all holding on too tightly to the past and what we knew, we were too afraid to explore the future and the great things around us.

"Ryder, stop calling your mom every five seconds. Joshua is fine."

My head popped up at the familiar female voice just as Mike rejoined Mercedes and I at the table.

"Babe, this is the first time we've left him since he was born. Cut me some slack, please."

"Well, since you said it so nicely," the blonde girl teased and kissed his lips with such ease. "Arthur Abrams, what a sight for sore eyes."

"Kitty," I greeted her with a nod of my head and a gracious smile. "Long time no see."

"Twelve years," she causally replied as she sat in the booth, directly next to me. "If you want to be exact."

"Which evidently you do," I heard Mercedes mutter under her breath which caused me to smirk in amusement.

"Oh, Mercedes, Mike, nice to see you guys too," Kitty greeted them in a sugary sweet voice that was nothing short of fake.

"I see things are well for you," I comment and causally shook Ryder's hand as a greeting. "Married, I assume?"

"Two years next month," Ryder proudly replied and took a seat directly across from his wife. "Your loss was my gain, dude."

That comment got a Kitty like reaction from her. It was obvious that she kicked his shin underneath the table by the way his body jerked up as he hissed in pain. Did I regret breaking up with the girl all those years ago? I honestly don't know. I was a kid still and we both knew that once I moved to New York for college, we wouldn't last long. We had seen so many relationships fail due to distance, why were we gonna be the exception to the rule? I do regret the way we broke up, I sent her a text message as soon as my bags were unpacked in my dorm room. Without a warning or sign I just broke up with her. I'll admit now that I was heartless. I was in a big city with tons of girls at my disposal, I needed to be free and I didn't want to hurt Kitty. Which now I realize I did. But she was now married to Ryder so things couldn't have been that bad for her.

"You married, kids?" Kitty asked and casually played with the straw in her drink. It was obvious that she was purposely showing off her gigantic engagement ring and wedding band set.

"Nope," I reply and shockingly don't feel any guilt or regret as I answer. "Work got in the way of real life, I guess."

"How is Hollywood?" Kitty asked. "I saw your name pop up a few times on my TV screen this past season. No movies?"

"Kitty," Ryder hissed at her obviousness rudeness.

Movies really didn't work out for me. I directed some indie films during my first two years in Los Angeles, but like most indie movies, they went nowhere. I didn't give up though, not right away at least. I pounded the pavement each and every morning trying to convince studio heads and other industry people to hire me, a no named kid from Ohio, to direct the next big Hollywood blockbuster. I was usually laughed off the lot or given a polite no from people. It sucked but I knew that was the business I was wishing to be a part of. God bless Rachel though. She talked to the heads of Fox and they let me intern alongside the directors of her show. By the end of the fourth and final season, I directed two of my own episodes. Things started to work its way up from there. People took notice and I was getting more offers to direct TV shows. It wasn't my ideal job but I did it anyway, it gave me the exposer I needed, it paid my bills so I could finally find a place of my own. So, for the last six years my name has been a regular staple on late night TV dramas and comedies.

The personal life took a backseat once my career became my main love. I obviously dated in college but never had a real, lasting relationship. I guess all of my important relationships happened in high school. Once I got to Los Angeles I was weary of starting something. I didn't want to end up being with someone who only used me to further themselves somehow. I looked around me and all I saw was all my friends either in love or married with a family, and it did bum me out on occasion but I was more concerned with my career. I'm still young though, I have my whole life ahead of me.

"Blaine!" I greeted him as he walked into Breadstix, his infamous smile on his face.

"Hey, man," he replied back and pulled me into a brief hug before he greeted everyone else. He sat next to Kitty and immediately grabbed her phone like it belonged to him. "So, how's Josh? He teething yet? Ryder was telling me he thinks that he is."

"Hold up," I interrupted their conversation with a raise of my hand. "You guys are friends?"

"Yea," Blaine answered like it was no big deal. "Katherine and I grew close over the last few years, right?"

"Katherine?" I gawked.

"I stopped going by Kitty once I passed the bar," she explained. "No one would hire a lawyer named Kitty. Katherine is more professional."

"Lawyer," I repeated and felt my jaw drop, I saw Mercedes and Mike's do the same. "Umm congrats I guess."

"The fact that you didn't know baffles me, I am Tina's lawyer after all," she continued to enlighten me.

Kitty, uh, Katherine's words jarred me a little. Was I really missing out on a lot? I felt like I had a good grasp on things where my friends were concerned. I kept in contact with a large majority of my friends from high school while still maintaining relationships with people I met through work. I refused to be the person who's life depended on the acceptance of people from his past. They all meant something special to me, but people did grow apart. It was inevitable. Coming back to Lima and knowing I was going to be around a lot of people from my high school days did excite me. Besides Mike and Mercedes, I hadn't seen a lot of them in years. I did talk to Sam and Tina often, Blaine too. Everyone else sort of disappeared. It wasn't like they weren't important it was just that life got in the way.

"Finally," Mike huffed when the soon to be married couple arrived alongside their parents.

"Sorry," Tina sheepishly replied. "I had a few work things to tend to before we left."

"I told you to leave work behind for the next week," Blaine jokingly scolded her and pulled her into a warm, tight hug. "Your class will still be there even if you're not."

"Artie, dude," Sam greeted me. "I'm so glad you made it."

"I did RSVP," I huffed. Why was everyone so shocked to see me? Did I really give off the vibe that I didn't need these people anymore?

"I'm glad you're here," Tina concluded and side eyed her future husband. "Mike and Mercedes too."

"Yea, why are they here?" Ryder asked and everyone finally took their seats around the table so we could finally start the dinner.

"Mike and Mercedes took us out to dinner when they got engaged," Sam explained. "As a way, I guess, to ask our permission. Which in turn brought Tina and I together."

"That's all of the story we can divulge in front of our parents," Tina teased. "Let's just say that a lot of tequila was involved."

"Got it," I nodded in recognition.

The dinner went surprisingly well. Sam and Tina were calm for two people who were about to get married the next day. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories that were shared between friends and family. I didn't know much about their relationship, except that it started six years ago. I wasn't shocked to learn that Blaine was Sam's best man and Ryder and Sam's brother, Stevie, were his groomsman. I was oddly taken aback to learn that Kitty was the matron of honor and that one of Tina's friends from college were her other bridesmaid alongside Sam's sister, Stacey. So it was blatantly obvious that I had missed a few things over the past few years.

The next morning I was preparing myself for the actual wedding ceremony and waiting for Mike and Mercedes to pick me up again. I was admittedly nervous to see the rest of my McKinley friends. Some I saw or spoke to often and some who had fallen off my radar once high school was in my rearview mirror. Like Puck and Quinn, I hadn't seen or spoken to them since my high school graduation, twelve years ago. Same went for Rachel, once her show was over she was on the next flight out to New York and I hadn't really spoken to her since. I always knew that Marley, Jake, and Unique all lived in the Los Angeles area as well but I hadn't had the chance to speak to them in a long time.

The wedding ceremony was beautiful. Sam cried as did Tina, of course. I sat next to Mike and Mercedes, my buffers. They were the two friendliest people around so sticking by them seemed like a good idea. I causally waved and mouthed a hello to the people who sat around me that I knew. The last time most of us were the same room was probably the last day of our glee club all those years ago. It was great to see so many familiar faces. Once the reception rolled around I found myself sitting at one of the two tables that was obviously for the McKinley crew. The older members sat at one table while I was squished between Marley and Unique at the newer kids table. It was good to get reacquainted with people I once called friends.

"How's life?" I threw the question out to make small talk. The awkwardness at the table was palpable. The next table over were obviously enjoying themselves by that loud sound of Rachel's laugh intermixed with Mercedes cackle.

"Good," Jake nodded. "I-I actually saw a billboard for the new show you're directing. It was on Sunset."

"Sweet," I cheered. "So, what are you guys doing with your life?"

"We're married," Marley answered and grabbed Jake's hand. "Almost three years now, have a little boy too."

"Whoa," I breathed at the realization. "Congrats guys."

"What about you?" Unique asked. She briefly turned to the strange guy sitting next to her and smiled widely in admiration.

"Work," I simply answered. "I'm a busy bee between the months of August and April, which is good."

Luckily the roar of the room covered up the obvious lull of our conversation. Sam and Tina were being introduced to the crowd as the new Mr. and Mrs. Sam Evans. It was really great to see the smile on their faces, their genuine happiness. I spotted Kitty shooting Blaine a knowing look as they both left the table and walked up to the DJ and grabbed two microphones while they were being introduced. The crowd was informed that Blaine and Kitty would be singing the song the newly married would be dancing to as their first dance. Of course they were, any chance Blaine had at performing he took it. Without fail both McKinley tables laughed as we all recognized the Maroon 5 song. Typical Blaine. Halfway through the song the DJ invited all couples to join the married couple on the floor. That's when it really hit me, I was alone. Ryder even got up to sway next to wife as she sang. Rachel and Kurt were the other single ones around me but they even got up to dance together. I even spotted Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury dancing together. After the song everyone returned to the tables smiling and laughing at all the excitement

"You okay, babe?" Mercedes asked as she sat in Unique's vacant seat.

"Fine," I waved her off.

"Artie," she said sternly.

"Uh oh. Don't use your momma voice with me," I joked.

"Let's go," she commanded and stood up while taking my hand. "I need to call and check up on Mikyla and we need to have a talk."

"Fine," I huffed in frustration and followed her out the reception hall.

Mercedes took her phone out of her bag and quickly dialed her mother to check on her daughter. I took my phone out of my pocket and checked my emails and text messages to see how everything was going on in California. I was going to be gone from work for a few days, I needed to make sure I still had a job when I got back to Los Angeles.

"So, Artie," Mercedes sighed as she placed her phone back in her bag with a loud snap. "What's your problem."

"I'm fine," I reiterated stubbornly. I adjusted my glasses with a defeated sigh as Mercedes gave me her classic side eye. "I'm happy."

"Okay," she nodded in recognition. "No one is saying you aren't."

"I know. I-I just feel subpar compared to everyone else," I explained and pointed towards the hall we were previously in.

"Why?"

"I'm not married," I explained with a pained sigh. Just a few short hours ago I was perfectly content with my life, but now to see everyone else around me made my question my life choices. "I feel as if everyone else is looking down at me because of it."

"You're ridiculous," she concluded with an exasperated sigh. "No one thinks of you as a lesser person because you're not married. You're thirty, you aren't dead."

"Cedes," I pleaded with her. "I didn't even know Jake and Marley were married and I found out they live like twenty minutes from me. Did I really fall off the face of the earth?"

"I see you," she laughed. "So obviously that's all that matters."

"Obviously," I sarcastically agreed with an eye roll. "I've lost touch with so many people. We promised to meet back up in New York six months later and no one was there."

"Life got in the way," she shrugged her shoulders. "We all had other obligations."

"I speak to just you and Mike," I huffed. "I'm even surprised I got invited to the wedding!"

"Artie," she said in a soothing motherly voice. "Sam and Tina still look at you as once of their close friend, obviously."

"I think it was a pity invite," I scoffed.

"No," Mercedes snapped. "I will not let you be a Debbie Downer, you will enjoy this night with your old friends and celebrate the great friendships you still have."

I hate when Mercedes is right, and sadly it happens often too. Damn her, she got wiser once she became a mother. Once we returned to the hall I did start to loosen up and let my hair down and have fun. When I wasn't being dragged onto the dance floor by Mike or Mercedes, I was getting reacquainted with old friends. Each one of them filling me in on their extraordinarily lives. I had pictures of weddings and children being thrusted in my face. Kitty and Blaine's toasts got the reaction they were hoping for, laughs and tears from almost everyone in the room. I had the privilege of dancing with Tina a few times before Sam pulled his wife away for a dance or mandatory pictures.

"Artie!"

"Yo Artie!"

I laughed and shook my head at my name being called by both Puckerman brothers who were gathered by the bar. I made my way over to them and immediately had a shot of Jameson shoved in my hand. Ryder, Blaine, Mike, Sam, and Kurt joined us moments later.

"What are we toasting to?" Sam asked as he took the shot glass off the bar.

"Finn," Puck replied.

"Man," Sam spoke somberly.

"He's here with us," Puck reassured him with a pat on Sam's back. "He's always here with all of us. He's been there for every step each and every one of us has taken."

"Preach," I whispered with a quick raise of my hand in agreement.

"So gentlemen, raise your glass for the man, the myth, and the legend that was Finn Hudson," Puck instructed as we all raised our shots in the air before downing them. "Miss you buddy."

"I've missed you guys," I spoke truthfully. "We can't let another ten years pass before we see each other again. Weddings shouldn't bring us together."

"When do you head back to California?" Kurt asked me.

"Tomorrow afternoon," I answered and slammed the shot glass on the bar with a loud clank.

"Bros brunch tomorrow," Sam suggested. "Our flight to Puerto Rico leaves in the mid afternoon. The girls are planning to get together for brunch so why not have a bros brunch."

"I'm in," Puck said as everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Awesome. Tomorrow at noon at the Lima Bean," Sam told us. "Now excuse me gentlemen, my wife beckons."

The party raged on to the wee hours of the morning which made getting up the next day extremely difficult. I didn't get back to my motel room until two and I was expected at the Lima Bean at noon, why did I agree to that? It was obvious Mike was feeling my pain when he picked me up. He was sporting sunglasses and you could just tell by how he spoke that he was feeling the pain of the party.

"Hey you guys made it," Blaine greeted us with a smile and a cup of coffee.

"How are you so cheery?" I asked with a rasp to my voice due to my alcohol consumption the night before.

"Tina made me promise that I wouldn't drink like a frat boy last night," Blaine quoted Tina perfectly, even perfecting her voice a little. "So I had a glass of champagne during the toast and then the shot with you guys."

"Smart man," Ryder told him and patted his back weakly. "This is my first night out since becoming a father, I needed to drink."

"I got the same lecture from Tina too," Sam laughed. "She didn't want me to look puffy for our pictures."

"Such a control freak," Kurt realized from his seat next to me. He brought his coffee cup up to his lips and smiled around it. "I'm so proud."

"No chick talk," Puck demanded, still wearing his sunglasses even though we had been inside the coffee shop for at least ten minutes now.

Brunch at the Lima Bean, which in actuality was just all of us drinking coffees and eating muffins to nurse our hangovers, was a lot of fun. I was being reintroduced to my old friends. I made it a mini mission of mine to take notice to each and every little thing everyone said. I didn't know when I was going to have the chance to see these guys again. Mike I could see everyday, we were attached at the hip. I made a promise to see Jake and Marley more often seeing they lived so close to me. Blaine even said next time he was in Los Angeles that he'd come find me so we can spend time together. Ryder agreed that he and Kitty would make a trip out west once school was in winter break, because shockingly Ryder became a teacher. Puck even mentioned that he and Quinn were going to spend the holidays in Los Angeles as well, with their two kids. It was all a little mind boggling, but I was pleasantly excited to see all my friends in two short months.

Once I got back to my motel room and got myself organized I was off to the airport. It was a quick forty eight hour trip but it was worth it. I had the chance to go back to my hometown and reconnect with people I hadn't seen in years. As I waited for my plane I skimmed through all the pictures I had taken on my phone of the day before. I was proud of myself when I realized I had captured a breath taking photo of Sam and Tina's first kiss as husband and wife. I just knew I needed to send them a copy of that. I had a ton of pictures of me and the guys and a few with each and every girl sitting on my lap. Overall, I did enjoy myself. I came back to Lima feeling a little wearily of seeing these people again after so long. I now leave Lima feeling like my eighteen year old self again. He was someone who felt like he was on top of the world and surrounded by the greatest people who he could call friends.


	2. Unique

**Unique **

"Marley, tell Isaac to stop freaking out."

Marley turned her head back and inwardly laughed. "Isaac, stop freaking out."

"Easy for you to say!" My boyfriend scoffed and grabbed my hand. "I'm not only meeting my girlfriends parents, but all her old friends too."

"You've met me and Jake and we aren't so bad, right?" Marley reassured him tenderly.

I smiled as Jake walked by me with his little boy in his arms.

"What did I do?" Jake asked accusingly, handing JJ over to Marley. He sat in his seat on the plane and placed a quick kiss on his wife's cheek.

"I was just telling Isaac to not freak out about going to Lima," I filled Jake in.

"I don't know these people," Isaac reminded us. "Who's getting married anyway?"

"Sam and Tina," I reminded him.

"Sam was the one to convince you to go to UCLA, right?" He asked. You could see the wheels spinning in his mind, trying to place all the pieces together.

"Yes," Jake, Marley, and I replied in unison which got us to laugh.

Honestly, my boyfriend had every right to freak out. I myself was freaking out. Besides the fact that he was finally meeting my parents, he was also meeting a ton of people I myself hadn't seen in a while. The last time I was in Lima for something, other than seeing my family for birthdays and holidays, was my high school graduation, ten years ago this past June. It wasn't like I was avoiding the small city, I just enjoyed Los Angeles better. People were more accepting of me, I had built a great life there. I had gotten a letter in the mail earlier this year reminding me of my ten year high school reunion, I didn't go. No one I knew was going anyway. It just so happened that the reunion fell on the same day as JJ's first birthday party, so we had a mini McKinley reunion ourselves. Ryder and Kitty would've came if she hadn't just given birth to little Joshua. It still baffles me to see my four best friends married with kids, who said high school sweethearts didn't get a happy ending?

"So give me a rundown of all the main people I need to know," Isaac asked.

I laughed at his question and shook my head. "We have a long flight, but not that long."

"How about just the bride and groom?" He reworded his question.

"Better," I chuckled. "You did mention how Sam got me to UCLA, but that barely covers his importance to me."

Sam coming back to Lima and McKinley is still a vivid memory in my mind. I had two weeks left of my junior year, it was a Thursday that I saw him. I was walking aimlessly down the hall from my calculus class to the new computer lab, or the old choir room. I was by myself. Marley and Kitty had gym across the school while Jake and Ryder had history down another hall. It was rare for me to walk the halls alone but by the end of the year I was use it to. I turned the corner and spotted Sam immediately. He was staring into the room, looking lost and confused all at once. I could see him muttering to himself as he looked into the room in disbelief, his head shaking from time to time. I didn't want to startle him but I also wanted to run and jump on him in utter excitement. Sam was back in McKinley!

I casually continued to stroll down the hallway until I stopped right beside Sam in front of the computer lab. The late bell ringing moments later. "It's jarring at first but the sting eventually fades away."

"Thanks," he casually replied, still looking into the room. Slowly he turned his head, the light bulb finally going off. "Unique!"

"What are you doing here?" I gasped as he pulled me into a bone crushing hug. "Last time I checked you were half naked all over the buses and train stations."

"You've seen my ads?" He asked, shock and awe written all over his face. "Wait, don't you need to go to class?"

"Child," I playfully scoffed. "I should be teaching the class I'm that good."

That conversation was the start of the rest of my life. I skipped my computer class and just spent time talking to Sam. He was bursting at the seams with stories of New York and I with stories of Lima. We casually caught each other up, wanting to wait for the other four to meet up with us to regale them with all our stories. Every time either one of us wanted to start a story we scolded each other and promised to save it for later. During lunch I had wished I had a camera to capture my friends faces when they saw Sam. I think I honestly saw Kitty and Marley shed a tear. Jake and Ryder literally jumped on Sam, not caring about the side eye glances and looks they got. We all felt whole again, obviously missing our other friends who had graduated the year before. Kitty and Artie breaking up severed any ties he had to us, I couldn't speak for the other four but I did randomly message or Facebook chat Blaine and Tina. I didn't want to impose on them while they were in school. Sam even mentioned that he had only seen Tina once since graduation, at Rachel's opening night.

We filled him in on all he had missed, meeting Mr. Schue's son, Daniel. We had so many stories to tell that I felt like it took the two weeks that were left in the school year to tell them. Once school was over the six of us were inseparable. Midway through July, Sam had the brilliant idea of starting a band. He had missed performing and honestly, so did the rest of us. Sam and Jake played guitar, Ryder had the drums covered, and Marley had the piano and she wrote our songs. Kitty and I, of course, were the main vocalists. It all started as a dumb joke during one of our movie marathon nights that just kept building and building until it was a reality. We were an actual practicing, gig performing, band.

"So how does Tina fit in all of this?" Isaac wondered as Marley walked up and down the aisle of the plane, putting JJ to sleep.

It took awhile for Tina to fit into my story actually. It wasn't until after I graduated and moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA that she reemerged in my life. I was by myself out here, except for Mike, Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany. I felt alone, everyone had a career they were working towards and I was stuck at school without a real idea as to what I wanted to do. I knew music was my passion and love but once I graduated and moved our band obviously broke up. I got a random call from Tina on a Tuesday in the middle of October, she just wanted to shoot the breeze. From our two hour long conversation I found out what I wanted to do with my future. I wanted to go into fashion. Tina had reminded me how much I enjoyed designing costumes for our performances and competitions. It just all clicked for me then. She had just transferred to NYU and was pursuing an performance art degree with a minor in fashion design. We all knew she had it in her, and she helped me realize I had it in me too. From that moment on I surged forward with a burning passion for fashion. It took some time after graduation, and with a little financial help from Marley and Jake, but I eventually opened a boutique in Malibu.

"And the rest is history," I playfully teased as we finally got off the plane.

"Nice cliff notes version," Jake teased as we hugged goodbye.

"I did say the flight wasn't long enough," I playfully reminded him and I bent down to give JJ a kiss on his forehead as Marley strapped him into his carriage. "Tell momma Puckerman I said hi, and we'll pick you up at eleven tomorrow so we can head to the church, okay?"

"Yes," Marley agreed and a stood up to pull me into a hug. "I love you. Good luck tonight, both of you."

"Marley," Jake tutted at her. "They'll be fine, don't worry the man for no reason."

"Sorry," she replied with a small wince. "You'll be fine, Isaac. Unique's parents are delightful."

Dinner at my parents home went surprisingly well. They adored Isaac, or at least they told me they did. He was perfect gentlemen, bringing my mother flowers and my dad a bottle of scotch, he knew they way to their heart. I was happy, he made me happy. I met Isaac while I was a junior at UCLA. He was in my advanced music elective class. I might have decided to major in fashion but I still needed an outlet for music, so I signed up for a few music classes. We had to pair up for a project and I had no one who wanted to work with me, it felt like high school all over again. Isaac looked over at me and we decided that it'll be genius idea to work together. From then on we were inseparable, he was my first non McKinley friend. After we graduated a year later we moved in together, still as friends. What I loved about him was that he didn't judge me, he stood by my side as I decided to further my transition. The hormone replacements, the surgeries, he was by my side each and every step.

We didn't start to think about dating until Marley and Jake moved out to Los Angeles about four years ago. They had just gotten engaged and Mercedes invited them out here to help with their careers. Marley starting writing songs with Mercedes and Jake worked with Mike at his dance studio. But when they arrived they immediately saw the attraction between Isaac and I. I admittedly adored him and was probably in love with him without even realizing it. I always scoffed when any of my friends would try and tell me that Isaac had feelings for me, that was just absurd. Now four years later I realize that I had never seen him bring dates home or even talk about someone he was interested it. One day the four of us were eating dinner and he just up and told me that he liked me and hoped I felt the same, which I did. Our relationship felt effortless, I didn't have to try, everything just came and seemed natural. I was desperately in love with him and I knew without a doubt that he felt the same way.

"Ready to get this show on the road?" I asked as Marley and Jake go into the rental car we pulled up in.

"Let's get this show on the road," Jake joked and drummed at the headrest in front of him. "I need to see Sam cry like a baby."

"Like you did at your wedding," I laughed and raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"Well, it was either cry or laugh at the crude jokes Puck was making behind me," Jake added.

"Which was caught on our wedding video," Marley nicely reminded her husband with a judging look. "Thank God I have Quinn to help me on this journey, married to a Puckerman."

Isaac and I laughed at the married couple sitting behind us as he drove. After being together, on and off, for over ten years those two were perfect together. The complimented each other perfectly, never letting high school dramas interfere in their adult relationship. Their road to finding each other again wasn't pretty but we all knew that they would eventual find each other again. The past ten years wasn't a walk in the park for any of us but we all managed to leave Lima unscathed, relatively.

"With the power vested in me, by the state of Ohio, I'm now pronounce you man and wife."

I grabbed Isaac's hand and smiled over at Jake and Marley, who were doing the same.

"Sam, you may kiss your bride."

I started the cheering by letting out a loud yell and clapping enthusiastically. We all stood as the bride and groom made their way down the aisle, followed by the bridal party. I winked as Kitty and Ryder walked by me, excited to see them again. I high-fived Blaine as he walked past me, congratulating him on a job well done as best man.

"There's a lot of people here," Isaac leaned over and whispered in my ear.

I laughed as I tightened the grip on his hand as we began to leave the church. "All of Lima's elite are here, babe."

"One school developed all this talent?" He asked in dismay. "I recognize like four people from TV and theater alone."

"Don't forget our favorite R&B diva, Mercedes Jones," I joked as we walked up to said diva. "Mrs. Chang."

"Unique!" She exclaimed at the sight of me and Isaac. "I haven't see you in like, what, two days?"

"Three," I laughed and pulled her into a quick hug. "Where's Mike?"

"He saw Puck and Quinn during the ceremony and went to say hi," she answered and fixed her dress over her expanding belly. "This little one would not stop kicking the whole time."

I bent down and spoke down to Mercedes' stomach. "Leave your momma alone, or you will have to answer to your Auntie Unique."

"You're crazy," Mercedes laughed and smiled as I stood up. "Where are the other Puckerman's?"

"Calling to check up on JJ," Isaac told her with a shake of his head. "Marley was texting Jake's mom during the ceremony to check up on him."

"I'm gonna need to talk to that girl," Mercedes playfully scolded.

Once Marley and Jake returned with Mike from speaking to Puck and Quinn they briefly greeted Mercedes before we all made our way across town to where the reception was being held. I was immediately overwhelmed by the splendor of the reception hall. It was all gold and black, something told me that Kurt had something to do with the planning of this all. I didn't care, guy had great taste apparently. The cocktail hour was great, I got to mingle with people I couldn't at the ceremony. I was still missing Kitty and Ryder, but they were preoccupied with taking pictures. I noticed how Artie stayed close to Mercedes and Mike. Isaac did the same, he stayed close to me or Marley and Jake. We were called into the main reception area and I noticed how Sam and Tina split the McKinley alumni into two tables. One for the older crowd and one for the newer one. Blaine and Artie got seated at our table, which I was grateful for.

"Ladies and gentlemen please stand for the introduction of your bridal party and the bride and groom," the DJ announced.

I jumped up out my seat and grabbed my camera from Isaac's hand.

"Please welcome your junior groomsmen and junior bridesmaid, Stevie and Stacey Evans."

I had only met Sam's siblings once or twice over the years but it wasn't hard to pick them out of a crowd. They were Sam's clones, dirty blonde hair and green eyes to match. It was adorable how much they idolized their older brother, even as young adults.

"Everyone give it up for bridesmaid Jenna Taylor and groomsmen Ryder Lynn."

"Yeah Ryder!" Jake hollered from over my shoulder which made our whole table smile in appreciation.

"He's so handsome," I muttered which got Isaac to turn around and give me a skeptical look. "Babe, I'm not sixteen anymore, don't worry."

"Now for your best man and matron of honor. Please give a round of applause for Blaine Anderson and Katherine Lynn."

Both McKinley tables screamed and applauded for the duo like we were kids again. I snapped tons of pictures like I was a paparazzi chasing a superstar down the streets in New York and Los Angeles. Kitty, of course bathed in the applause like her life depended on it. I love that girl, and Blaine just laughed at her antics and went right along with it.

"Now I need everyone up on their feet and clapping your hands. So I can introduce, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Evans."

Tina and Sam waltzed into the ballroom hand in hand and I could physically see everyone swoon. They were adorable, bright, huge smiles on their faces. I spotted Tina's mom from across the ballroom, crying. I heard Marley whisper to Jake that she couldn't believe how beautiful Tina looked in her floor length designer dress. She was absolutely breath taking. Once the noise died down, Kitty and Blaine stepped up to the microphone to serenade the newly married couple for their first dance. As we all sat, the McKinley alumni giggled at their choice of a song. Of course they chose a Maroon 5 song, typical Blaine. Halfway through the song the DJ invited the other couples to the floor and I grabbed Isaac's hand to dance.

"Congrats you guys," I greeted the happy couple as I danced next to them.

"Unique, you look beautiful," Tina complimented me. "I'm glad you made it Isaac."

"It's great to finally meet you," he told her. "And congrats."

"Thanks man," Sam smiled and patted his back, showing off his new, white diamond wedding band.

The reception overall was beautiful. I danced with Isaac and Marley almost all night. It was great to reconnect with old friends too. I didn't want to shelter myself with just the people I could see everyday. I caught up with Blaine and his amazing life and career, I also got to have a real conversation with Rachel. We were never really friends, but we did have a ton in common. She filed me in on her recent engagement to a man I sadly had known far too well back in high school. She looked content and at peace with her life right now, back on a Broadway stage. I even did a little dancing with Kurt, if it wasn't for him and Mercedes I would've probably been stuck at Carmel and hating myself and my life. They saved me and let me be me, no questions asked. If it wasn't for those two I'd never have the nerve to transfer to McKinley and meet the most important people in my life. I was a lucky girl indeed.

"You okay?" Isaac asked as we drove back to my parent's room later that night.

"Fine," I reassured him with a smile. "Just thinking."

"About?" He pried as he turned onto our street.

"How I'm lucky," I blushed at the truth. "I just spent the last, what, seven hours with the people who helped mold that scared little girl into the fierce woman you see now."

"We aren't all that lucky," Isaac said, with a truth in his words that was heartbreaking. He stopped the car once we were in the driveway. "I loved my high school experience but I don't talk to any of the people I was friends with."

"You have a ton of friends now," I reminded him with a tender smile. "Besides, you can borrow Jake and Marley anytime you want."

"Thanks," he replied with a hearty laugh. "Do we have any more weddings after this?"

I reached by my feet and slipped on my shoes that I chucked off as soon as I got in the car. "Not anytime soon, no. Unless Blaine decides to meet someone and marry."

"How many of these McKinley weddings have you been to?" He asked as we finally exited the car and made our way into the house, as silent as possible.

"Counting this one? Four," I answered. "Mercedes and Mike, Jake and Marley, and Ryder and Kitty."

"Damn," Isaac breathed in a impressed tone.

"Marley and Jake win though," I told him as we reached my bedroom. I opened the door and immediately took my shoes off. All the dancing killed my feet. "They've been to every wedding."

"Why them and not you?" He asked as he sat on the bed with a content, pleased sigh.

"First one was Jake's brother, then his dance partner, followed by Marley's song writing partner. Then they got married and then we end it with Ryder and Kitty and now Sam and Tina," I explained as simple as possible.

"That's a lot of weddings," he noticed with a laugh. "All that's left is a few of you."

"Rachel's next," I told him. "She was showing off her giant ring at the reception. Kurt has a boyfriend he adores and Artie and Blaine are bachelors, for now at least."

"And you?"

"Well, there is this one guy who's caught my eye from time to time," I teased as I watched my boyfriend remove his suit jacket with such ease.

"Just time to time?" He asked, playing along.

"He's all kinds of fine," I explained with a laugh. "Totally charming too, won over my parents after just five minutes with them. Loves my friends just as much as I do. And his job? I could be a housewife if I wanted to but he supports my dreams and let's me peruse them freely."

"I should meet this guy," Isaac joked. He sat on his knees in front of me and placed a quick kiss on my lips with a smile on his. "I love you."

"I love you."

"Good," he declared and rested back on his knees. "Otherwise what I'm about to do would be pointless."

"What are you about to do?" I asked, trying to suppress the anxiety that was now building up inside of me.

Isaac pulled out a small red velvet box from his pants pocket and looked up at me with wide, beautiful gray eyes.

"No."

"I didn't even ask you yet," he shook his head. "Unique Adams, my best friend, my love. We've been through so much together and never once did I feel like leaving you, even in our darkest times. That's when I knew I needed to spend the rest of my life with you." He opened the box and I internally squealed, Rachel Berry's ring had nothing on mine. "So, will you do me the honor and marry me?"

"Yes!" I answered enthusiastically, not caring if I woke up all of the greater Lima area. He slipped the ring on my finger and I just marveled at its beauty. "I love you."

"I love you," he replied as he sat up and kissed me with a satisfied sigh. "I've been carrying that with me since Los Angeles."

"Why didn't you do it back home?" I asked.

"I needed to ask your father's permission first," he declared with a smirk.

"Isaac," I shook my head in disbelief. "You are amazing. Thank you."

"Thank you," he concluded.

The next morning I was still floating on cloud nine. I might have stared at my ring all night that I hardly got any sleep. I was engaged and engaged to the man of my dreams. I went downstairs and gushed over it with my parents before leaving Isaac behind as I headed back into town to meet the rest of the girls for brunch. Our flight back to California left the next morning but Tina and Sam's flight to their honeymoon destination was leaving that afternoon. I walked into the cafe and saw Marley's face right away, she was beaming like a damn fool.

"He did it!"

"You knew!" I accused her.

"Of course," she scoffed. "Who do you think helped pick out the ring?"

"I could kill you Marley Rose," I told her and gladly accepted the hug she gave me. "Thank you."

"I can't wait to plan the wedding," she gushed and ushered me into the dinning hall all the other girls were sitting in. "I was thinking early spring wedding, pastels for colors and maybe have JJ as the ring bearer."

"Marley," I paused her with a laugh. "I've been engaged for less than twelve hours, cool it."

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly. "I'm just so excited."

"Excited about what?" Brittany asked.

"Unique got engaged last night!"

"That was my news to tell," I sighed at her over enthusiastic nature.

"Oh my god!" Tina exclaimed and reached for my hand. "I wanna see the rock."

I showed her my ring and bathed in the response from all the girls. "He did good."

"Real good," Kitty agreed. "Ryder needs to step up his game next time."

"Well, congrats Unique," Rachel said and reached for a menu. "Sit ladies. I'm famished."

As I sat next to Marley I just looked around the table and smiled. I was a part of a small group of girls who truly cared about each other. In high school and even before, I would've never thought that I would be included in a group of such diverse group of people. I was always looked at as an outsider, someone who never really fit in with the boys or the other girls. Arriving at McKinley sophomore year just felt right. I was immediately embraced by everyone around me. The only time I felt resistance from my fellow glee club members was when we were fighting for a solo. No one made fun of me or judged me, and when someone did, I had eleven people who had my back. I was never really close to the older girls, besides Mercedes, but I knew Santana, Rachel, and Quinn had my back, no questions asked. We all came from the same core foundation. Glee club and its members were a family with an unspoken bond that no time or distance could break.

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the support. I'm currently still in the middle of writing this whole thing. I just finished Kurt last night and began on Mercedes this morning, I'm going alphabetically by last time. So, if anyone has any thing they might want to see with their favorite characters let me know. I don't bite. Again, thank you all so, so, so much. **


	3. Blaine

**Blaine **

"Blainey Days, where are you?"

"Home," I responded.

"Why aren't you on your way to Breadstix," Tina questioned.

"I'm helping Luna with her homework," I answered and resumed helping my niece.

"On a Friday!" She wailed and I could just imagine what she was actually doing at that moment. "Only Anderson's would do homework on a Friday."

"Uncle Blaine I need help on question three," Luna thankfully interrupted Tina's rant.

"Tay, I need to go," I told her. "I promise you I'll be at dinner on time. Probably before you even."

"Oh thanks," she replied sarcastically. She sighed and I could almost guess that she was running a hand through her hair. "I'm just, ugh, stressed. The flowers still haven't arrived from New York and Soledad keeps calling me and asking questions."

"Breathe," I coached her. "Relax and just forget all the troubles in New York."

"Easy for you to say," I heard her mutter under her breath, unsuccessfully.

It had been a eventful twenty four hours to say the least. I had arrived back in Lima and was immediately whisked away by my niece, Luna. Unbeknownst to me, Cooper was also in town for the weekend to visit our parents. Luna, like a typical Anderson that she was, wanted me to help her with her homework so she wasn't behind when they got back to California that Sunday night. How she was Cooper's child is still a mystery to me. Cooper wasn't a horrible student when we were younger but I do remember him cramming to get all his school work done either Sunday night or on the car ride to school that Monday morning. Luna was great, at five years old she was a star student and had the personality to match her fathers. She was rambunctious and loud and very passionate about everything. There was no denying where she got her attitude from, clearly not her mother, who was shy and timid and the complete opposite of my brother.

"Squirt, don't you need to get ready," Cooper reminded me when he popped his head into the den. "Luna, let uncle Blainers get ready."

"Daddy," she whined and pushed out her bottom lip in a pout.

"Luna," Cooper repeated sternly. "He needs to go to dinner with his friends, you can see him when he gets back. Okay?"

"Fine," she huffed as one of her curls fell in front of her face which caused me to laugh.

I got up and patted Luna on her head and gave Cooper an appreciative smile. I was running behind on getting ready and Tina probably would kill me if I was late to the dinner. I was sympathetic towards her rants, I'd be nervous too twenty four hours before my wedding. Sam was more laid back, I'd assume he was nervous too but he wasn't showing it. That's how Sam was though, he had learned over the years to let things roll off his back when he had no control over them. I think going back to Lima all those years ago helped Sam grow up. It sucked that he left New York but when he returned it was that much better. I understood that he needed time away from the chaos of the city and his time away did some good for him. He was able to branch out and explore new options and ideas about his future.

The first few months after everyone left the city was an adjustment. All that was left was Artie, Kurt, and myself. I was living in the Brooklyn loft again, just Kurt and I. This time it felt right though, we had our own area, no one to butt in and add their two cents in our lives. That summer we decided to stay in New York, going back home just seemed like taking a step back instead of progressing forward like we had been doing. The three of us just became tourists in the city we now lived in. New York had so much to offer and we wanted to take full advantage of it. We went to the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and enjoyed a movie in Bryant Park during the months of June and July. It was great to reconnect with Kurt and Artie too. School was overwhelming and even though our group of friends were smaller, people got lost in the hustle and bustle of it all. I tried to talk to Sam and Tina at least once a day during that summer. Sam was busy though, working for Burt at the garage and Tina was taking a summer acting program at Brown.

"So, are you going to see if anyone shows up?" I was pacing my bedroom in the loft as I spoke to Sam on speakerphone. "I know Rachel won't."

"That's one down," Sam replied nonchalantly. "Dude, we all promised that in six months we'd all meet back up."

"Are you going?" I paused and stared at my phone that was resting on top of my dresser. I don't even know why I asked the question, I already knew the answer.

"I can't," he whined. "Burt and Carole went away for the weekend, leaving me in charge. Plus, the band booked a gig tomorrow night."

"Sam," I sighed. "You don't need to make up excuses with me."

"These aren't excuses!" He exclaimed and I could just picture the animated gestures he was making right now. "Blaine."

"I know," I replied. "I don't think anyone is going. Kurt and I decided to skip it, Artie too."

"So, that just leaves Mercedes and Brittany," Sam realized. "They're in the middle of a tour so that's a no for them."

"Guess so," I realized with a heavy sigh.

We all backed out of our word. We had promised to meet up six months later and we all made up excuses to back out. It's not that we didn't want to see each other but real life got in the way. Rachel was filming in Los Angeles, Sam didn't want to step foot in New York until he was absolutely ready, I didn't blame him. Mercedes and Brittany were in the middle of the mall tour and the rest of us just decided that no one else was coming so we weren't showing up either. That's how things progressed over the years. We'd all make plans to see each other and nothing ever came from it. We all lived on the idea of making plans and never saw them come to reality. We were all fine with it though, living on a false hope. If you weren't making an effort to see or speak to someone, you weren't going to. No one really noticed it happening, it just happened.

I put in the effort everyday to speak to Tina and Sam. It got difficult, there were times when we went weeks or months without speaking to each other. I was consumed by school and making a life with Kurt. Times even got hard with Kurt. We were living in a bubble of bliss, trying our hardest to block out the outside world. Then it all came crashing down on us during my junior year of college. The year before we both had been going on audition after audition for any show that had a slim chance of being on Broadway. We both had seen how hard but easy it was for Rachel, why not give it a shot ourselves. The Broadway and NYADA blogs were buzzing about the revival of My Fair Lady, a show that hadn't been on Broadway in over twenty years. Both of us knew we weren't going to get the lead, the part wasn't catered to us like Fanny was for Rachel. Kurt and I decided to put our pride aside and we both audition for Freddy Eynsford-Hill.

"Blaine, I was around for West Side Story," Tina reminded me. "Things got ugly. Like sneakily ugly."

"That was four years ago," I scoffed at her comment.

"Oh, did one of you drop the idea of being on Broadway all of a sudden?" She asked teasingly. "You both have the same dreams and ambitions meaning you will endlessly go up against each other for parts until someone writes something specifically for you."

"I don't want to have another blow up," I admitted with a heavy sigh. "But this part Tina, it could be the start of something."

"I know," she said in a soothing voice. "This is a step towards everything you ever worked for. Kurt too."

Auditions were relentless and numerous. I was burnt out by the last callback. My nerves were clearly getting the best of me, I was always so confident and self assured when I was on stage. Knowing Kurt was going through the same process as me did made it difficult to concentrate at times. Home life became tense, we refused to talk about our audition process, we slowly started to become roommates instead of an engaged couple living together. It was right before we left for Lima for Christmas break that I got the call. I got the part. I wanted to celebrate and scream from the rooftops, but I couldn't. Seeing Kurt's face when I hung up the phone made reality set in quicker. I got it meaning he didn't. I stayed in New York that Christmas and Kurt went back to Lima, by himself. Luckily Tina canceled her holiday plans last minute and came down to spend the winter break with me.

"We're over," I realized on Christmas Eve. "He's gonna come back, tell me to pack my bags and get out."

"No he's not," she reprimanded me. "He's taking this time to process it all and he'll come back and he'll be your number one supporter. Just you wait."

"What if he isn't?" I cried through my hands covering my face. "What if me getting this part is the final nail?"

"What if this role is the spring board of something great?" She countered with a raised eyebrow. "Blainey, I know you adore and love Kurt but didn't you come to New York to follow you dreams, not your fiancé."

"My relationship shouldn't take second place to my career," I reminded her.

"Your career should be first," she stressed. "If the tables were turned wouldn't you be supportive of Kurt?"

"Of course," I quickly replied.

"So why is it okay for you to place your relationship first but Kurt can put his career first?"

Life on Broadway became a whirlwind of excitement and pure chaos. I had a second hand experience of it all due to Rachel but what she went through couldn't prepare me at all. It wasn't until opening night that Kurt and I finally got back to what we perceived as normal. Tina came down from Rhode Island and Sam actually returned to the city, even though he stayed glued to someone's side at all times. Kurt was just perfect, he was fully supportive and never once showed if he was upset or hurt over me being cast. I didn't become a sensation overnight like Rachel did but I did gain some recognition. I could freely walk the streets without being hounded by people, I still had the opportunity to continue my studies at NYADA without much interruptions. I was learning during the day and putting my studies to use at night. By my senior year of college, Sam and Tina moved to the city and we resumed our Monday night potluck dinners. It was great to have some semblance of normalcy back in the loft. The loft though was now getting over crowded again. When Tina moved to New York, she took up Rachel's old room, Sam returned and went back to living on the couch. The only chance Kurt and I had at privacy was thrown out the window once our friends arrived.

After I graduated thing got relatively quiet and calm. I was still in My Fair Lady, but I was growing tired of it. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience but I needed to spread my wings and grow. Kurt was growing antsy too, a year out of college and he was stuck doing off Broadway shows, which isn't a bad thing at all. I assume he'd just thought things would come easy seeing it looked easy for Rachel and I. I went a good six or seven months without a steady job or income after I decided to leave My Fair Lady, it was painful and depressing. Kurt was flourishing in his shows and Sam and Tina were doing great things for themselves too. It wasn't until my manager told me about auditioning for Newsies that it really clicked for me. Broadway was my life's dream, why not jump into a lead roll head first. I played it safe as Freddy, a small role to get my feet wet. I auditioned on a whim, taking my chances and learning along the way. It took the time between leaving the theater and arriving back in Brooklyn for me to get offered the part. I was shocked, they decided on me in forty five minutes.

"A lead!" Tina squealed and smacked Sam's arm repeatedly in excitement.

"Hello!" Sam yelled and yanked his arm out of Tina's grasp. "Dude, seriously this is awesome."

"Newsies," I sighed at the realization. "I had the poster on my wall back in Lima."

My first leading roll went off without a hitch, I was so proud of myself. I'm not one to brag but I feel like I was made for that roll, I was Jack Kelly. I was twenty two and in a dream role, doing a job I loved and I was surrounded by people I loved. Artie had just recently moved out to the west coast and our group got smaller. It was even harder to maintain friendships and relationships. I'd only see Sam and Tina when we were all home on Monday nights. They were both working and Sam was taking photography and art classes at the local YMCA. When Kurt wasn't doing his show or going on auditions we literally had to schedule time to be together. It became exhausting.

One day, two years into Newsies, Kurt and I just stared at each other and reality hit us. We were in our early to mid twenties and still weren't married. Yes, we did agree on a long engagement, but, isn't seven years long enough. We either needed to shit or get off the pot, as Sam eloquently put it. So, we got off the pot. No hurt or hard feelings were shared, we just realized that we couldn't grow as individuals if we were still tethered to each other. We knew our time together had ran its course, so we broke up. Kurt decided to move out, he found a place with Rachel who conveniently moved back to New York a month before we broke up. Still, till this day he and I remain good friends. I actually was the one who introduced him to his current boyfriend. See, no hard feelings.

"Blaine!" Artie greeted me as I finally walked into Breadstix.

"Hey, man," I replied back and pulled him into a brief hug before I greeted everyone else. I smiled at Kitty and sat next to her and immediately grabbed her phone to see her pictures. "So, how's Josh? He teething yet? Ryder was telling me he thinks that he is."

"Hold up," Artie interrupted our conversation with a signature raise of his hand. "You guys are friends?"

"Yea," I nonchalantly answered. "Katherine and I grew close over the last few years, right?"

"Katherine?" Artie choked out and I could see his jaw hit the table.

"I stopped going by Kitty once I passed the bar," she explained. "No one would hire a lawyer named Kitty. Katherine is more professional."

I let Kitty and Artie resume their conversation and I turned to face Mercedes and Mike. "How's LA?"

"Sunny," Mike laughed which got Mercedes to shake her head in amusement. "How's New York?"

"Good, good," I answered. "I'm taking some time off for the rest of the year. Give myself time to relax."

"I understand," Mercedes agreed and patted her very pregnant belly. "After we had Mikyla, there wasn't a rush to go back to work."

"She's a job in of herself I hear," I laughed.

"She has her fathers spunk, that's for sure," Mercedes nodded at a smiling Mike. "So how are our soon to married couple?"

"Tina is a nervous wreck and Sam is calmer then I've ever seen him," I replied.

"Sounds about right," Ryder added to the conversation.

Once Tina and Sam finally arrived with their parents we could finally kick off the dinner. It was a small group of people but you could tell what each and everyone of us meant to them. I was just glad that I got to see Kitty and Ryder, I hadn't seen then since their little boy was born. People may act shocked that I kept in contact with them once I graduated, but they were my friends. We had a whirlwind of a year together, that includes Jake, Marley, and Unique. It was just great to reconnect with Mike and Mercedes too, I went to their wedding over six years ago and then we lost touch a little bit. They were based out of California and my home was New York. I just admired them and how they approached their exes with their pending nuptials, Sam and Tina too. They made sure to include them in every little thing they were doing, never leaving them out. That way no hard feelings were had between the four of them.

"I may pee myself," Sam declared as he paced the room in the church.

"I don't think that's in the best man contract," I told him. "Cleaning up the grooms pee."

"Tina will kill me if I bail, right?" Sam asked more to himself then me. "Think I can pull a Miss Pillsbury and sneak out the back unnoticed. You can wear my suit and marry Tina, she'd appreciate that."

I shook at my head at Sam finally cracking under all the pressure. "Breathe. Relax. Calm down."

Sam took a few deep breaths and nodded his head. "I'm getting married. To Tina!"

"I know," I laughed. "I helped pick out the ring, dude."

"Tina," Sam scoffed. "God, I hated her in high school. She was like a lapdog, trailing behind you all the time and cramping our bro time but I love her."

"I'm glad you're sticking to traditional vows," I teased and straightened his tie and fixed his suit jacket over his shoulders, picking off pieces of lint I found.

"Sam, Blaine, you're needed," Mr. Evans opened the door and stuck his head in. "Crowds getting restless out there."

"Coming," Sam told him and turned to me one last time. "Thank you for sticking by my side, B."

"Anytime," I assured him and ushered us out the door.

As I stood up in front of the church I could see everyone perfectly. It was great to see a blend of old and new friends gathered in one place. The music started and I could hear Sam take in a sharp, shaky breathe. His siblings walked down the aisle and it took all of my strength not to start crying, it was beautiful to see how they were included on this special day. Next was Ryder and Tina's friend, Jenna, who fit in perfectly with our New York crew. She fit in like she was with us since high school. Kitty walked in next, by herself and I swear she would've stolen the show if she could. Just by walking down an aisle she drew people in with her smile and charisma. Everyone stood as Tina was lead down the aisle by her father. That's where I lost it, Sam briefly looked over at me, tears in his eyes and it set me off. I am admittedly a sappy individual and to see my two best friends getting married sent me over the edge. Tina took Sam's hand when she arrived at the altar and not to sound too cliché but I think I heard angels sing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present to you the new Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Evans."

Those simple words had never meant so much to so many people. We had all become a little jaded over the years by the countless weddings we had attended but for some reason this one hit me the hardest. Maybe it was the fact that my two best friends were getting married to each other but I believe it was because these two deserved all the happiness they had coming to them. They each had a demon or two to overcome after high school but to see their demons finally conquered was nothing short of miraculous. I was just lucky and proud to have a front row seat to all of this chaos and joy.

The ceremony flew by so quick. I walked down the aisle with Kitty and quickly said my hellos to as many people as I could as I walked past them. We were all whisked away in the limo to take pictures at the local city garden. We took an unscheduled stop at McKinley to take a few pictures. Tina wanted a memory of the place where they first met all those years ago. Such a sentimental person, I adore her. Pictures felt like they ran on forever but we all obeyed the photographers and Tina's orders. Even though she was officially married she still had a little Bridezilla in her. Once at the reception I was glad I was gonna have a chance to relax and unwind, for a little while at least. After we were introduced, Kitty and I had the privilege of singing the couples first dance. When Sam asked me to sing at their wedding at first I was a little hesitant, I wanted to actually enjoy myself and not feel any pressure. That was until Tina called me at three in the morning a week before the ceremony and told me that Kitty had agreed to sing with me. That lead to late night phone calls and Skype sessions between the two of us. She would put Joshua to sleep and call me so we could rehearse. I rarely had the opportunity to sing with her in high school so I was glad to sing with Kitty now.

"I just need an easy song so I don't forget the lyrics," Kitty joked during one of our many late night conversations. "I may have had the baby already but I still have pregnancy brain."

"Don't worry," I reassured her. "I have a list of songs that will cater perfectly to our voices."

"Such a little perfectionist," she teased. "I've missed dictator Blaine Anderson."

Seeing that she was constantly busy with work and a new baby, Kitty let me pick the song. She also said that I knew Sam and Tina the longest so it was only right I got to choose. I wracked my brain for days before finally settling on Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved", it was fitting for my friends and their unconventional love story. Halfway through the song the DJ invited all the other couples on the dance floor and it was a beautiful thing to see how many people actually joined them. To see my friends from my past and present gathered in one place to celebrate the two people I loved most in this world. I gave Rachel and Kurt a quick wave as they danced past me, Ryder sandwiched himself between Kitty and me so he could sway beside his wife as she sang. Over the music I could still hear Tina's laugh due to something outrageous Sam said, probably. It was great to hear her laugh again, she went too long without laughing and enjoying laughing. She had a dark period after college that luckily Sam helped her get over. Once I was fully allowed to enjoy myself I did just that.

"How's it going best man?"

"Hey Santana," I greeted her as I downed another glass of water. "You look good. Where's Britt?"

"Dancing with everyone's husband," she laughed and sat next to me. "Reminds me of junior year prom."

"That girl sure loves to dance," I chucked. "How are the kids?"

"Good. Destiny just started kindergarten last month which baffles me and Chris is a handful," she replied with a shake of her head.

"Kindergarten?" I gawked with a shake of my head. "Time sure does fly, doesn't it?"

"Britt and I just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary this past winter," she further added on. "Sometimes it still feels like I'm that scared little girl from high school."

"You Santana Lopez are nowhere near that little girl anymore," I reassured her and squeezed her hand for emphasis. "You're an awesome wife with two rocking kids who adore you and you're running a pretty important talent agency up in Chicago."

"I am pretty bad ass, aren't I?" She realized as Brittany finally found herself off the dance floor.

"Hey Blaine," Brittany greeted me and took the water in my hands. "Why aren't you out there dancing?"

"Going over my best man speech one more time," I answered and pointed to the piece of paper lying on the table. "Sam requested it to be funny but Tina doesn't want me to divulge too much."

"Oh whatever," Santana rolled her eyes and moved Brittany on to her lap. "Lady Asian and Lips just need to accept whatever you wrote down."

"The McKinley crew will appreciate it," I shared honestly. "It's where their love story happened. After his with Quinn, you two, and Mercedes of course."

"Oh Trouty Mouth," Santana sighed dreamily and broke out into a wide smile. "Now that I remember, Tina did help me write that."

"Yes!" Brittany exclaimed, remembering. "See San, you were a match maker before you even knew you were."

"Okay, best man you're needed," Quinn interrupted. "Speech time."

I got up and ushered Quinn into my seat. "The Unholy Trinity back together again, now as moms and wives."

"We're already plotting for our kids to marry each other," Quinn joked with a wink.

"My daughter will not become a Puckerman," Santana huffed.

"Go," Brittany shooed me away with a roll of her eyes. "This may take a while."

I shook my head at the girls still fake arguing as I left. I stood next to Sam as he sat next to Tina, Kitty standing at her side. She started the speeches first and did a little introduction about how Tina was her maid of honor at her wedding and how if someone had asked her twelve years ago who her maid of honor would be, she wouldn't have picked Tina. She made a few references to how Tina called her after her official first date with Sam and realized that he was more than just impressions and huge lips, which got Santana laughing the loudest. It was an eye opening experience to see Kitty talk so candidly about her relationship with Tina and how it took her years to warm up to the idea of a friendship with a female due to her past experiences. Her speech was beautiful, moving, and typical Kitty.

"Wow," I breathed into the microphone that was placed in my hands. "How am I supposed to compete with that?" I smiled at Kitty who was laughing and looked down at my friends. "I had this whole speech prepared which I wrote and rewrote about five times in the last thirty six hours."

"Shocking," Tina muttered sarcastically.

"So what can I say about these two that hasn't already been said tonight? I love them," I gushed. "They were, and still are my rocks and support system. I remember the first time I saw them together, it was at the end of senior year. We did our own impromptu senior lock in and they went missing for awhile so I went to investigate and lo and behold they were making out in the astronomy classroom. I was utterly disgusted by it, so I ran away."

"Prude," Kitty teased.

"Little did I know that six years later when I caught them making out again on our couch that I wasn't bothered by it," I laughed at the memory. "Then Sam told me he loved Tina and a day later Tina told me that she loved Sam. I'm not one to gossip, much, but I knew they had trusted me with some important information. If anybody knows anything about Tina they know that right after college she had a long dark period and Sam became her light."

Tina looked up at me with a appreciative smile on her face and tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She grabbed Sam's hand fiercely and I could see the worry melt from her.

"I bet everyone in this room tried to save Tina at least or twice over those gruesome months," I noted and looked at the McKinley tables and received some reassuring head nods. "But all it really took was a few horrible impressions and a swift kick in the ass to get her back on track. So, Sam thank you for being the beacon of light in Queen T's life." I placed my hand firmly on Sam's back and gave him a grateful pat on the shoulder. "Tina, you are my sister who I love and cherish deeply and who's love has no boundaries. You accept everyone for what and who they are and you somehow manage to except Sam and all his quirks and nuances that no one else can stand. You got him back to the Sam we always knew and loved and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that."

"I love you," Tina whispered to me through her now falling tears.

"Everyone please raise your glass and toast to these two remarkable people who will grow old together and who have not only bettered mine but everyone in here lives," I ended my speech and raised my champagne glass. "To Sam and Tina!"

"Sam and Tina."

Tina and Sam stood up and pulled me into a hug. I could feel the tears falling from their eyes on to my suit jacket. Kitty could be heard behind them laughing at our over exaggerated display of affection. That was our thing though. Once the toasts were over I hit the dance floor and spent the rest of my night there, until it was finally time to eat. I causally caught up on the lives of the people I sat next to. I had the rare privilege of already knowing these people outside of a high school setting but to see them all in one room was a true delight.

"We're doing shots."

I looked up as Jake and Ryder popped out of their seats and followed Puck who was leading the pack of guys up to the bar. I followed suit as I saw Kurt, Mike, and eventually Sam join them. It took some coaxing by the Puckerman brothers but Artie eventually did join us. We all had Jameson shots shoved in our hands before we all toasted to Finn. It was a bittersweet thing to do, but I'm glad we did it and I'm glad Puck gave us a little pep talk beforehand. During our little boys meeting we decided we were all going to meet at the Lima Bean the next morning for a bros brunch while the girls did the same.

"Coffee," I groaned as I got up to the counter. "I don't think I've slept yet."

"You?" Sam mocked. "By the time Tina and I go back to our room the sun was coming up."

"So no newlywed sex?" Puck asked with a laugh.

"Dude," Sam huffed and placed his order with the barista. "Make it a double shot of espresso, please."

"Double shot coming up," the barista nodded.

"Get muffins!" Ryder called from where our small group was sitting. He looked rough, even from where I was standing I could tell his eyes were bloodshot and his voice had a rasp to it due to alcohol consumption and lack of sleep.

I waited for our coffees and food with Puck and Sam, placing an order for Mike and Artie who had yet to arrive. Once everything was ready we took our seats and just started to catch each other up on our lives.

"So, why didn't Manuel come with you?" Sam asked Kurt. "You did get a plus one, Tina made sure of it."

"Have him bombarded by all of you?" He accused. "I like him too much to torture him."

"Isaac seemed fine," Jake added with a shrug and picked at his blueberry muffin. "Then again he's use to the craziness."

"Oh, Manny's met a majority of you guys," Kurt corrected him. "I just didn't want him to feel pressure. Meeting all my friends and family in one trip, no."

"Hey you guys made it," I greeted Artie and Mike when they finally arrived. I handed them both the cups of coffee I ordered specifically for them.

"How are you so cheery?" Artie asked with a rasp to his voice that echoed Ryder's voice.

"Tina made me promise that I wouldn't drink like a frat boy last night," I quoted Tina from our endless conversations during the night before. "So I had a glass of champagne during the toast and then the shot with you guys."

"Smart man," Ryder said and patted my back weakly. "This is my first night out since becoming a father, I needed to drink."

"I got the same lecture from Tina too," Sam laughed. "She didn't want me to look puffy for our pictures."

"Such a control freak," Kurt realized from his seat next to me. He brought his coffee cup up to his lips and smiled around it. "I'm so proud."

"No chick talk," Puck demanded.

I sat back in my seat and just nodded along with the conversation. It was great to have all the guys together in one room. I couldn't even remember the last time that had happened, and for a happy occasion. All of these guys had helped mold me into the person I was today whether I noticed it or not. Some of them left a lasting impression like Kurt and Sam and some just by being my friend touched my life. I promised that now that I had more free time to keep in contact with them more often. I made a plan with Puck to visit him and Quinn in New Hampshire before I came back to Ohio to visit Kitty and Ryder in Columbus before ending my trip in California to see Mike, Artie, and Jake. They all had children that I hadn't had the privileged of meeting, except Joshua. Kurt even agreed that he'd take the trip to California with me when I went, saying that it had been too long since he got to see Mercedes. I left the Lima Bean later that afternoon happy and fulfilled. I arrived back at my parents home just in time to say goodbye to Luna and Cooper before they left for the airport.

"I'll come see you for Christmas break," I promised my niece and she hugged my legs. "I'm going to visit some old friends who live there too."

"You promise?" She cried and looked up at me with her big blue eyes, exactly like her father.

I crouched down to her eye level and pushed a curl out of her eyes. "Promise. Less than two months and you can spend Christmas with me and mommy and daddy and maybe I can convince nana and pop to come too."

"Yes!" She excitingly exclaimed. "Love you uncle Blainers."

"Love you too kiddo," I told her and kissed the top of her head. "Now be good for mommy and daddy on the plane ride. Okay?"

"Okay," she nodded and pulled me into a quick hug before taking her backpack and scurrying off to find my parents.

"You're gonna be a great dad one day," Cooper noticed from his spot by the door frame.

"You got lucky with such a great kid," I told him honestly. "I've heard enough horror stories from my friends."

"You honestly coming to Los Angeles for Christmas?" He asked and walked into the room.

"Promised a few friends that I'd try to come," I shrugged. "Make a long vacation of it."

"I'll be waiting," Cooper replied and patted my cheek. "Later, Squirt."

"Bye Coop."


	4. Rachel

**Rachel**

I hesitantly stood in front of the door, too afraid to knock. I've walked up these three steps numerous times through out my life but today felt like it was the most difficult to actually get my feet to move. I took a deep breath before getting the nerve to finally ring the bell. Here went nothing.

"Rachel!"

"Hi Carole," I smiled wide at her as she pulled me into a hug.

"Kurt's not here yet," she informed me and rushed me into the home. "His flight isn't set to arrive until tonight. Burt is running some errands."

"I know," I told her and sat down on the old beat up brown sofa. "I got in this morning and spent some time with my dads before I got the nerve to come here."

"Why would you be nervous to come here?" Carole asked and sat next to me.

I looked over at her for a moment before raising my left hand to show off my sparking engagement ring. I tried to read her face, Carole was never one who hid her emotions well.

"Congrats!" She exclaimed and pulled me into a hug that caught me by surprise. "I'm so happy for you, honey."

"Thank you," I replied sheepishly. "I-I didn't know how you'd react honestly."

"Sweetie, you were and still are an important part of this family," she stressed. "Of course I'm going to be excited over your engagement and I know Finn would've been too."

"Kurt said the same thing," I laughed. We sat in silence momentarily to let the weight of my announcement wash over us. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from crying. "I guess I felt as if I needed your blessing."

"You have it," she said. "You don't need it but you have it, Rachel. You loved my son unconditionally and he loved you just as much. You went so long without love in your life and you deserve happiness."

"Thank you," I nodded in appreciation. "It just feels wrong."

"What does?"

"Starting a new life without Finn in it," I sighed. "It's been years but it still feels fresh."

"He wouldn't want you to pause your life forever. My son was stubborn but he knew when to let go," Carole sweetly reminded me with a chuckle. "You've had all the success, fame, and fortune you ever dreamed of. Now fill that gaping part of your life with this new exciting, and beautiful ring."

I laughed and looked at my ring again. "It really is beautiful."

"Jesse did a great job," she noted.

"You think Finn would've approved of Jesse?" I casually asked. I know I didn't need his approval even if he was alive but it would be great to know if he did.

"Well, we know those two never got along in high school," she laughed. "But I think out of everyone, Finn knew how much Jesse really did love and respect you."

"He's great," I smiled up at her timidly. I sighed heavily and just shook my head in amazement. "You raised a great man Carole."

"You helped him become that man," she stressed. "So thank you Rachel for loving him so honestly and maturely."

I sent a few more minutes catching up with Carole before I returned to my childhood home and called Jesse. He was back in New York working so he wasn't able to attend the wedding. It was just bizarre to me. The room I was currently sitting in held so many memories that felt like it happened lifetimes ago. This was the same room where I contemplated losing my virginity to the same man I had just agreed to marry only three weeks ago. It was also the same room where Finn and I tried to act like a married couple, at our parents request. It was all a little surreal actually. That little girl had gone through so much to be the woman I am today. If it wasn't for those hard times I wouldn't have made it to where I was now. Lima molded me for the big times, for the hard times in and out of my career. Once Blaine, Sam, Tina, and Artie graduated high school I vowed to never return unless absolutely necessary. And here I was, back in Lima and not at all afraid of it.

Moving to New York was my life's goal and I accomplished it. I got accepted to NYADA and landed my dream role on Broadway, but dreams change, people grow. I moved out to Los Angeles on a whim and a prayer. My pilot got picked up and my life changed. I never set out to be TV star but it happened. My show wasn't an overnight success but the executives at FOX believed it in and that's all that really mattered to me. The back nine episodes of season one finally grabbed people's attention and I was thrilled. This show was my life and we were doing it on my terms, no subject was off limits. I had a lifetime of experiences that the writers drew from. We even briefly touched on the subject of death, respectively of course. The wounds of Finn's death was and still is a sore subject for me. No one can really get over a loss like that.

Season two was a blast to shoot, I felt more comfortable in front of the camera and even in Los Angeles, which was such a transition from not only Lima but New York too. By that time Mercedes, Brittany, and Santana made the city their home too. It was great to have a piece of home with me, I had someone to run lines with or someone to vent to at all times. Kurt was my best friend but three thousand miles was a lot of distance. On winter and summer hiatus I would fly to New York and see my friends but a few weeks out of the year still wasn't enough time. I was getting homesick after a while. All of Lima could've moved out to Los Angeles and it still wouldn't have been enough for me. By season three, Mike and Unique moved out west and helped round out our group. It actually started to feel like my second year in New York.

"Tina and Sam are in New York!" I exclaimed as I spoke to Kurt during our weekly conversations. "Where is everyone staying?"

"The loft," he sighed. "It's like sophomore year all over again. Tina's in your old room and Sam is back on the couch."

"Kurt," I cooed in sympathy.

"I can't say no," he realized. "Blaine loves them and I do too. I can't kick them out."

"Maybe find a bigger place," I suggested. "It was fine with just us two and even Santana, but four people. We all know how well that turns out."

"It's not that bad," Kurt explained. "No one is really home at the same time. Blaine and Tina have school, plus Blaine has the show every night. Sam is scarce, he's learned from last time to be a ghost."

"Are you okay with it?" I honestly asked.

"I'll get use to it," he replied and I knew he was trying to convince himself more than me. "Enough loft drama. I need scoop on the show, is your character ever gonna get together with Pablo?"

"Gotta wait for the season premier next week," I teased with a laugh.

"Rachel!" He gasped. "We're best friends, I deserve some inside details."

"I haven't cracked yet," I reminded him. "What's makes you think I'd divulge information now?"

"I tried," he huffed with a laugh.

Season four was our final season and it all started to feel bittersweet as we filmed it. Artie moved out here as filming began and I helped him get an internship with one of our directors, hoping to get his feet wet while he tried to land movie roles. I wanted to use my success to help others in any way that I could. The show meant so much to me, despite all the attention I got from it. I was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy but that really didn't matter to me. The work I put into the show was what fulfilled me. I got to spread my acting wings and return to New York once we wrapped with a better understanding of the craft. People thought I was crazy for leaving NYADA but I thrived on the real world as a classroom instead an actual one. I feel like I learned more by doing instead of learning how to do.

I returned to New York at such an important time. Kurt and Blaine had broken up and Kurt needed a place to stay. I got a two bedroom apartment in the West Village and of course my best friend was going to room with me. He didn't even need to explain anything to me, I just greeted him with a bottle of wine and a pint of his favorite ice cream and all the sappy movies one could think of. He had been a rock for me all these years so it was only fair that I returned the favor. I couldn't stay unemployed for long after I got back to New York, I was getting antsy. I tried to take some time off to just enjoy being young but I couldn't. I felt the lights of Broadway calling me back again. I was at first afraid to audition, did I burn any bridges with my abrupt exit all those years ago? Thankfully I didn't. Within months I was casted as Elphaba in Wicked, another dream role of mine. I remember sneaking into the Gershwin with Kurt during our Nationals trip to New York and now I was going to be on that stage every night singing songs I had only dreamed of.

"Rachel, you're doing amazing," my director complimented me, three months into my role. "As you know Stephen is leaving us next month and we finally found our new Fiyero."

"Who?" I asked, curious and excited.

"He's new to the New York theater scene but he's been making a name for himself in Los Angeles and San Francisco," he began the long introduction. He stuck his head out my dressing room and waved in my new cast mate. "Rachel I like you to meet Jesse St. James."

"No."

"Something wrong?" The director asked as Jesse waltzed into the room.

"What a sight for sore eyes," Jesse commented and sat next to me.

"Jesse," I tried to greet him kindly. "Congrats on the role."

"I'll leave you two kids alone to get aquatinted."

"Rachel this is amazing!" Jesse marveled.

"This is crazy," I corrected him.

It took a few shows for me to really adjust to being around Jesse all the time. No one believed me when I told them about him being my new Fiyero. It felt like a bad dream that I couldn't wake up from. It came as a shock when I really got to know Jesse again, he had changed a lot since the last time I saw him. He was no longer the cutthroat kid I knew, he had matured into this wise and thoughtful adult. Shockingly. He had always had the best male voice I ever heard but over the years it seemed as if it had gotten better. He still tried to impose himself in my life at every chance though. I had gotten the invitation to Mercedes and Mike's wedding and he tired to go as my date. Like that was ever going to happen. I went back to Los Angeles for the wedding and tried to push aside all the nonsense Jesse had brought into my life. It wasn't long after their wedding that Brittany and Santana got married in Chicago. It was at their wedding that we all had learned that Puck and Quinn secretly got married two years earlier, the only ones to witness it was their friends and family. Quinn walked into the church with a baby in her arms, that blew everyone's mind.

"Berry."

"Santana," I smiled as she walked towards me. She and Brittany were in New York for Christmas vacation.

"Britt and I are adopting again," she announced as she bounced her two year old daughter on her lap.

"That's great!" I exclaimed in excitement. "I'm happy for you."

"Our baby is due to arrive within the next month," she further explained. "Umm I need to ask your permission."

"To adopt?" I asked curiously. "You don't need my permission."

"I know that," she waved me off. "Britt and I were thinking of names, we're having a boy by the way."

"Destiny is gonna be a great big sister," I added quickly.

"So names," Santana sighed which seemed like it was layered with sadness and nerves. "Mr. Schue stole the name I wanted to use but then again it's not mine to use either."

"Daniel?"

"Finn," she quietly answered and brushed a strand of blonde hair off her daughters face. She was purposely not looking at me. This was so unlike Santana. It was actually really beautiful. "So Brittany and I started brainstorming more names and I remember Finn telling me once his middle name was Christopher."

"After his dad," I told her somberly. Thank god for Destiny being there because I think both Santana and I were gonna cry.

"Yea," she nodded in agreement. "So Berry, can we name our son Christopher?"

"Of course," I answered enthusiastically. "If anyone had a strong connection with Finn besides me, it was you."

"Thank you," she whispered her gratitude.

Santana's odd request frankly frightened me. I wasn't afraid of her using a name that meant something to me, I was afraid that my life wasn't progressing. I had all the fame and success I wanted in life but I was alone. It had been almost ten years since Finn passed and I hadn't had a real, meaningful relationship. I dated here and there but I always made sure that they didn't last. I didn't sabotage them per se but I did make sure they didn't last more than three dates. I was afraid of letting someone in, I didn't want them to get too close. I feared the unknown, I couldn't open myself up to someone again just so they could leave. Kurt thought I was crazy, calling my fears irrational. I knew they were, that's why I sought help.

I wasn't ashamed to openly admit that I saw a psychiatrist to sort out my feelings. I wanted to get to the root of my issues. Was I still not over Finn and his death or was I just too guarded with my feelings to let someone in again? Dr. Carlson really helped me when I needed it the most. There were a few things that I just couldn't share with my friends and family, things that were too personal. It was because of the help I received that I was willing to date Jesse again. I knew that despite everything he may have said and done during high school, Jesse really did care for me. He wasn't the same obnoxious teenager I once knew. He was kind and thoughtful and beautiful. The rest was history, it wasn't perfect all the time, nothing ever is. We had our issues, mainly his ego. I was well established in the Broadway world but he was still trying to find himself. He left Wicked after two years and kind of got stuck for a while. He expected offers to start rolling in but things became stagnant. I was flourishing in shows and all over the blogs and press while he was still trying to make a name for himself. He did eventually hit his stride once he got the lead in Phantom of the Opera, his name was known all over New York after that.

Our relationship was one that I tried to keep private. I had press write about my life every chance they got so I wanted to keep something to myself. My friends supported my decision and respected my wishes about keeping Jesse's name out of the press until I mentioned him first. My life was chaotic and not at all simple so the fact that I had somewhat control over my relationship was perfect for me. I took another break from Broadway after Wicked, I had been working nonstop for almost ten years, I deserved a break. I traveled, Jesse was doing Phantom and I needed to reintroduce myself to the world. I visited Brittany and Santana in Chicago and ended back in Los Angeles to see Mike and Mercedes. I got my much needed rest and relaxation and got to just appreciate life and my friends.

"It's the end of an era," I said to Kurt as he drove us to the church.

"What do you mean?" He asked and raised his eyebrow.

"The end of New Directions weddings," I explained. "Well, some of us are still getting married but not to each other."

"You are true," he realized and nodded his head approvingly.

"Who would've thought Sam and Tina would end up together and married," I laughed as Kurt parked the car. "Stranger things have happened though."

"Like you marrying Jesse St. James," he teasingly laughed as we walked up the few steps to the church entrance. Once inside we paused behind the rows and rows of people already sitting down. "Now we have a dilemma."

"We do?" I asked curiously.

"Where do we sit?" Kurt asked and gestured to the pews in front of us. "Do we sit on Tina's side or Sam's side?"

"I-I don't know," I stuttered in shock. "I didn't know people actually did that. Every other wedding I've been to was just a mixed up jumble of people sitting."

"Well, Sam's mom is sitting over there," he acknowledged and pointed to a weeping blonde woman. "And I know that's Tina's nana sitting directly across from her."

"We've known Tina longer," I tried to reason. "But Sam lived with us for a year."

"You lived with him for a year," Kurt stressed and continued to scan the crowd. "I spent years under the same roof as him."

"Where are Mike and Mercedes sitting?" I asked, now feeling a little overwhelmed by all the pressure of choosing a side to sit on. "If they can come up with a decision, so can we."

"They're on Sam's side," he answered and craned his neck to see who else what sitting where.

"Oh," I seethed. "Interesting choice."

Kurt shook his head and grabbed my elbow. "Let's go drama queen, we need to sit."

"On Sam's side?" I asked.

"On our asses," he huffed and continued to drag me down the aisle.

We eventually found our seats, behind Mike, Mercedes, and Artie. It seemed like the older New Directions members sat on Sam's side while the younger group chose Tina, interesting. The ceremony was beautiful, everything looked marvelous. I know Kurt helped a lot when it came to the colors and picking up the little odds and ends to decorate the church. I may have been picking up little ideas here and there for my own upcoming nuptials. I tried to stifle a laugh as I heard Kurt crying next to me as Tina walked down the aisle, he was such a sap. It was emotional though, seeing our friends get married. I myself got a little emotional at weddings. It reminded me of so much, of what could've been and what will be in the future. If they gave an award for perfect best man, Blaine would've won hands down. He was the perfect anchor to Sam's craziness. He let him openly cry and be emotional and honest and loving, it was beautiful to see. I didn't know Kitty, outside of stories about her, but she lived up to her reputation. Rolling her eyes when someone became over emotional and smiled and laughed when the time called for it. It was a beautiful ceremony that ended with a simple, loving kiss and a hardy cheer from all those who attended.

"Berry, Lady Hummel."

I shook my head at Kurt as Santana walked hand in hand with Brittany towards us after the wedding. "Santana."

"How are my two favorite people doing?" She asked and she along with Brittany gave Kurt and I quick hugs hello. "Damn Berry, you could cut someone with that rock."

"Jesse proposed!" Brittany wailed in excitement. "About time."

"I said the same thing," Kurt agreed and threw his arm over Brittany's shoulder. "Six years of dating and finally he pops the question."

"Rachel?"

"Mr. Schue," I smiled at my old teacher. I threw my arms around him and gave me a big, warm hug. "I'm so glad you came."

"I can't so no to Sam and Tina," he laughed and hugged the others. "How are you guys doing? Good I hope."

"Great," I beamed.

"Berry was just showing off her iceberg that she calls an engagement ring," Santana teased.

"Jesse popped the question finally," my former teacher nodded approvingly. I gasped at his words, in shock. "You're a star Rachel, the news was all over the papers and TV."

"Oh."

"Enough about her," Santana scoffed in true Santana form. "How are you? Where's Miss Pillsbury?"

"She's back home with the kids," he answered. "She's meeting me at the reception."

"How are Daniel and Patricia?" Kurt asked as he waved to a few of Sam's family that passed him.

"Great," he beamed at the mention of his kids names. "Danny is in sixth grade and Tricia is in the fourth. They're a lot like Emma when it comes to education, they can't get enough."

"Nerds."

"Santana," Brittany playfully reprimanded her wife. "Be nice."

"Sorry," she apologized. "It's a reflex."

It was great to see Mr. Schue and catch up with him again. He showed us a few pictures of the kids, who looked like a perfect combination of him and Miss Pillsbury. We said our quick goodbyes before Kurt and I drove across town to the reception. I was starving and needed food immediately, especially if I was going to dance the night away with my friends. Once we arrived and I grabbed some food during the cocktail hour, I spotted Quinn and Puck chatting it up with Jake and Marley. I excused myself from Kurt and made my way to them. I warmly greeted Marley and Jake and waited for them to end their conversation before I hugged Quinn and Puck hello.

"It's so great to see you, Rachel," Quinn said. "It's been too long."

"Five years," I noted. "You walked into Britt and Santana's wedding with Aaron in your arms."

"And he just started the first grade," Puck laughed. "You look good Rach."

"You too Noah," I nodded. "I got the picture of Cora you sent me via Shelby."

"Yea, we still keep in contact with her and Beth," Quinn explained. "Can't believe she's the same age I was when I got pregnant with her."

"Times flies," I chuckled. "You guys should really come down and see us soon."

"We were thinking about taking a trip to New York during Spring break," Puck replied and patted Artie on the back as he went by us. "Show the kids the city and finally meet their sister."

"That-that's great," I smiled.

"Why is this so awkward?" Quinn finally asked the obvious question. We may have been in a crowded banquet hall but the tension was thick and too palpable. "We use to be so easy around each other now look at us."

"I'll excuse you two ladies," Puck said before hugging me briefly and walking away.

"Things got weird," I stated. "I had a lot of pent up anger in me and I took it out on you and I'm sorry, Quinn. I'm really sorry."

"You were, and still are, grieving," she simply said. "You suppressed so much of that fear and hurt that it finally culminated and I was the target."

"You shouldn't have been," I apologized and played with the tool on my dress to distract me from looking in her eyes. Eyes that were filled with understanding and forgiveness that I shouldn't receive. "You have every right to be happy with Noah and your beautiful, beautiful kids."

"A happiness you never can have with Finn," she quoted me. "You know Rachel, a lot of what you accused me of is true. If only I had stayed faithful to Finn all those years ago you would be just another girl to him. You would never had to deal with his loss the way you have."

"It's not fair to you," I reiterated in a shaky voice. "I was still a kid back then, not knowing how to deal with my emotions properly. I've gotten help since then."

"Good," she nodded sympathetically. "I didn't come here to rehash old arguments and hurt feelings. I came her to celebrate this joyous occasion with old friends."

"Let's do it then," I suggested and grabbed her hand, a feeling of reassurance washed over me and I knew that not everything was back to normal, but we were getting there.

Once the tension was over between Quinn and I, I finally got to enjoy the rest of the cocktail hour which turned into the reception. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the McKinley kids were split up into two tables. It was the first wedding I had been to where the older and newer New Directions were at the same wedding. Mike and Mercedes only had Unique, Jake, and Marley at there's while Santana an Brittany just had Marley and Jake. I was a little upset to see the place settings for Artie and Blaine were at the other table, understanding completely why Sam and Tina chose that seating though. Once most everyone had gotten to their seats the DJ began announcing the wedding party. It was great to see Sam's siblings being included, they were adorable kids. Ryder and Tina's friend from NYU, Jenna were next, followed by Kitty and Blaine.

I was a little upset that Tina didn't ask me to be a part of her wedding party. I selfishly hoped that she would have me as a brides maid if not her maid of honor. I understood her chose of Stacey, but the other two girls did confuse me. Mercedes felt the same way too, we respected Tina's decision, obviously, but it did knock us off our high horses a little. I wasn't around much during Tina's senior year of high school so I didn't know the full extent of her relationship with Kitty, all I knew was that they had a odd relationship that turned into a mutual love and respect for one another. Someone once described it as similar to the relationship Kurt and I had during sophomore year. We were each other's number one competition but it all came from a place of love and respect until it turned into genuine friendship.

"Rach," Tina began as she paced before me. "You were like the first female friend I ever had, but, I'm asking Kitty to be my maid of honor."

"O-okay," I replied slowly. "So brides maid then?"

"Just a guest," she answered sheepishly and looked back at me as she paced, a look of panic written on her face. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," I reassured her with a flick of my wrist. "I'm sure you have your reasons."

"It's a small bridal party," she began to explain and sat down next to me. "Maid of honor, one brides maid, and a junior brides maid. That's it."

"Who's your brides maid then?" I finally asked.

"Jenna Taylor," she answered. I could tell she understood my raised eyebrow as confusion. "I met her at NYU and she was like my first real non McKinley friend that stuck."

"And I guess Stacey is the junior brides maid?" I asked, not really needing to know the answer. I laughed under my breath as Tina got up and started to pace in front of me again.

"I'm just so, so sorry," she kept apologizing. "God, I gotta call Mercedes too and explain this all to her."

"Tina," I called to her. "You don't need to apologize. This is your wedding, your bridal party. You don't owe anyone any explanations."

Tina stopped her pacing and faced me before nodding as I nodded back with a smile. "Yea, you're right Rachel. This is my wedding, I get to do whatever I damn well please."

"Exactly."

"Thanks again, Rach," she said.

The DJ announced Sam and Tina next to a raucous reply. They soaked up the cheers as the show boated their way onto the dance floor. They gave little smiles and waves to the people who stood by them on the dance floor before Kitty and Blaine took two microphones from the DJ and started to sing. We all at the McKinley tables got a kick out of the song, typical Blaine picking a Maroon 5 song. It was a beautiful song though. I knew Blaine had an amazing voice, all of New York and Broadway knew that too. Kitty surprised me though, I had probably heard her sing once or twice in the ten plus years I knew her. She had a unique tone to her voice, I was surprised to learn that she had decided to become a lawyer rather than try her hand at some sort of performing arts profession. Once the DJ invited all the other couples up to the dance floor I immediately grabbed Kurt's hand. We were the only single people there and I just knew we needed to dance together.

It was great dancing with Kurt, we danced alongside our friends and just laughed and joked around with everyone. I said my congratulations to the newly married couple before purposely dancing by Mike and Mercedes, saying my hellos before making my way to Brittany and Santana quickly. I spotted Quinn and Puck across the dance floor and waved to show my appreciation of her forgiveness. Overall, the reception was a blast. The toasts were kindhearted and funny, making everyone tear up or laugh. Kitty turned out to be an excellent matron of honor, always checking up on Tina. I even had time to do a little catching up with Unique. I hardly knew her back in high school but over the years we had grown to become friends, we had shared so many friends in common that it was only natural. She playfully teased me about my engagement to Jesse, I had forgotten that she had known him back in her Vocal Adrenaline days. I calmly reassured her that Jesse wasn't the same man that she had known all those years ago.

"Where's Unique?" I asked the next morning at the girls only brunch.

"She should be here soon," Marley reassured us.

"Tina, you need to tell me where you got your reception dress," Mercedes said. "I need to own that."

"Betsey Johnson," Tina answered. "It was on her website for dirt cheap."

"It was stunning," Brittany agreed.

"I'll be back," Marley excused herself from the table.

We all stopped our conversations when we heard Marley squeal in excitement, Unique now at her side.

"I'm just so excited," Marley said to Unique as they joined the table.

"Excited about what?" Brittany asked.

"Unique got engaged last night!" Marley blurted out.

"That was my news to tell," Unique sighed with a playful smirk.

"Oh my god!" Tina exclaimed and reached for her hand enthusiastically. "I wanna see the rock."

Unique proudly showed off her ring and it was really gorgeous. Kind of made me jealous. "He did good."

"Real good," Kitty agreed. "Ryder needs to step up his game next time."

"Well, congrats Unique," I commented and reached for a menu. "Sit ladies. I'm famished."

"So, Tina, any kids in your future?" Mercedes asked as the waitress took our orders.

"I've been married for not even a full day," she laughed around the rim of her coffee mug. "But yes, kids are in our future."

"They'd be so cute," I added. "Little blonde hair, green eyed Asian babies."

"Stop!" Tina jokingly scolded me. "I just want to enjoy my marriage first before I even think about having kids."

"Oh, but it's fun trying," Kitty smirked.

"Yes it is," Marley agreed.

"Marley Rose, I am scandalized," Unique gasped with a laugh.

"You girls are crazy," Quinn concluded.

"I love it."

I laughed alongside the other girls as the waitress brought the food, finally. It was great to just have a girls brunch, I hadn't had a chance to be in the same room with all these girls in a long time. I'd been so busy lately with work and Jesse lately that I hadn't had the chance to catch up with my friends. Frankly I was beginning to get worried if I would ever here from some of them again after high school. Santana and I had our moments of pure friendship and moments where we couldn't be in the same room at the same time. After my blow up with Quinn, we had gotten the same way. Marley and Kitty were practically strangers to me while once I moved back to New York, Mercedes and I casually spoke to each other. Tina and I would run into each other on the streets or a mutual friends house and catch each other up on our lives. It was great, truly great to see all these people again. It made me feel like the carefree girl I was before life and all its hardships got in the way. I wouldn't trade my struggles for anything, because of them I got to who and where I was today, but it was good to reminisce and be nostalgic once in a while.


	5. Mike

**Mike**

"Mercedes if you don't hurry up we're gonna be late picking up Artie."

"I'm moving as fast as I can," she called from one of the back rooms.

"You know Tina's a stickler for punctuality," I reminder her with a huff.

Mercedes finally emerged from the room and looked around before grabbing her bag. "I'm seven months pregnant, I only have one speed. Tina just has to deal with it."

I grabbed my car keys and wallet and lead us out to our rental car parked out front. "I'll remember to tell her that when we see her."

It was an odd, out of body experience being back in Lima. I couldn't even count how many times I've actually gone back to the city I grew up in, but this time was different. This time I was back to see my first love get married. I was over Tina, I got over her years ago, but being back here was a little jarring. I thought I said goodbye to my childhood once I graduated high school and moved to Chicago. Obviously things change. I was roped in by Mercedes and Mr. Schue to come back to McKinley more than I wanted to. Then Finn asked me to help me with the Grease auditions and I couldn't say no. It was during my sporadic visits that I made amends with Tina and our relationship that went sour too quickly after I graduated and moved. Also during those visits I said goodbye to Finn and the glee club in one year, mere weeks apart. I thought my senior year was eventful.

College was a great experience for me. I was around other people who shared the same passion as I did. I only got that during glee period in high school and even then I was more in the background. I dove in head first and soaked up the experience like a sponge. I learned more about dance in those four years then I ever could've imagined anywhere else. The doubts I had about not following my parents wishes quickly faded away after I started to book odd jobs here and there in Chicago. Anything to get exposure was fine with me. Some up and coming musician needed dancers in their video, I was there. Some theater company was putting on a show and needed someone to choreograph it, I was your man. All these experiences helped me for when I moved out to Los Angeles after I graduated. Brittany and I were always a great team together, she was a natural dancer without any formal training but once I arrived she had morphed into this super dancer. I was beyond impressed.

"Going on tour with Mercedes helped," she explained and did an effortless turn. "I was the main dancer and choreographer."

"I was bummed that I missed the show," I apologized and changed the music to a slower song.

"She's going back out to promote her second CD," Brittany announced and moved around the dance room on beat. "Mike!"

"Brittany!" I chuckled, I knew that face. Brittany had another genius idea brewing.

"What if we choreograph the tour, together," she smiled wide and clapped in excitement. "San's her opening act so we can all be together."

"I don't want to impose," I shook my head. "The three of you have this good rhythm going since the first tour."

"Come on," she begged and pulled at my arm relentlessly. "We can take what you learned in school and whip these dancers into shape."

"I don't know Britt," I told her wearily. "I just moved out here, I just can't up and leave."

"Yes you can," she reassured me. "Nothing's holding you back but yourself. Mike, you want to put your four years of training to good use and this is a sure thing."

"Fine," I gave in with a sigh. "When do we start rehearsing."

"Yes!" Brittany exclaimed and jumped up in excitement.

Agreeing to go on tour was probably the best decision I had ever made, beside joining and staying in the glee club. I learned so much about myself, not only professionally but personally too. I got to see the country and all these legendary concert halls. In Los Angeles we played the Roxy while in New York we played Irving Plaza for two sold out nights. I got the chance to reconnect with old friends and learn who they had become as adults. I was friends with Santana and Brittany before we all joined glee due to football and cheerleading, but it was great to reconnect with them on a personal level. Santana had grown up to be a confident woman, more self assured then she was in high school. Of course she still had her venom tongue, but now she used it to defend those she loved rather than bring them down. Seeing her on stage every night was breathtaking, she belonged up there. She did covers of songs she sang during glee, like "Valerie" and "Back To Black" before singing one or two original songs she was working on throughout the tour.

Brittany's dancing was fantastic, everyone knew that. To be on tour with her taught me so much. She taught me things I could never learn from school and I taught her things I learned in school. It was fun. Seeing Brittany outside of the stage was something I hardly experienced, the way she took charge of the other dancers was very motherly. I love Brittany dearly but we all know she was a bit flighty at times. She took charge though and no one batted an eye. She made sure everyone was where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there. Brittany was our secret weapon when Santana went on one of her random rage tangents, it didn't happen often, but when it did Brittany stepped up to the plate and calmed her down gracefully. Thank God. Brittany also organized a day of fun whenever we had downtime in some city. She always found an amusement park, zoo, or some activity for us to do.

Mercedes was a miracle on stage, a living, breathing perfection. Everyone praised Rachel for her singing ability, rightfully so, but Mercedes was exquisite. She was so versatile, she could sing pop, rock, and bring the house down with a Broadway show tune in one show. Both albums reflected her extraordinary talent, not only singing but song writing too. And if that wasn't enough, she featured Santana on both albums, which led the latter to get a little recognition. It was halfway through the tour, in Raleigh, North Carolina, that things started to change. We were in week three of our six week tour, with thankfully another day off and everything just clicked. Brittany organized an outing to a local vineyard, which was pretty genius actually. We got to drink wine for next to nothing, we were struggling artists after all.

"Yo Chang!" Santana called to me outside of our tour bus.

"Yo Lopez," I called back to her with a chuckle. She never called anyone by their first names.

"If you keep staring at Cedes, I may need to call the police," she teased.

I shook my head at looked over at Santana who finally approached me. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"You're full on creeper mode right now," she told me. "Just ask her out, she won't bite."

"Santana."

"What?" She asked. "I've been stuck on a smelly tour bus with you all for three weeks. I see things, my Mexican third eye sees things."

"Like?" I asked and raised on eyebrow at her. I leaned up against the bus and watched as Mercedes and Brittany walked through the parking lot with some of the other dancers, laughing without a care in the world.

"You get all school girl when she's around," she observed. "She touches your arm and I swear I hear you giggle and you blush. I saw the two of you together back when we visited McKinley a lot."

"I did like her back then," I admitted and hung my head. "But then Finn died and glee club ended and she ended back up with Sam."

"Her and Trouts have been over for three years now," she reminded me and lifted my head up with a well manicured nail. "You don't need his blessing or permission if that's what you're worried about. Mike, you and I have been friends for a long time now. You deserve to be happy. Cedes is my girl and she deserves to be happy. Go for it."

"Maybe," I sighed, partially giving in.

"Ugh," Santana threw her head back with a groan. "Straight people always confuse me."

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically.

A week later in Miami I finally had the courage and asked Mercedes out. It would've been sooner but I was enjoying watching Santana squirm too much. Every time I was alone with Mercedes, Santana was near by just carefully watching us. It got to the point where Brittany was doing Santana's dirty work, spying on me and dropping hints about the perfect time to ask Mercedes out. Those two were perfect for each other. The date, in my opinion, was perfect. I took her to little cafe outside of South Beach and had a pleasant dinner that was filled with a lot of laughs and good conversation. I will admit that I felt awkward at times during that night and I could tell Mercedes did too. It wasn't that we weren't comfortable around each other, it was just that we were spending so much time around each other that the conversation lagged after a while. We had been friends for eight years by then so there wasn't much we didn't know about each other.

The rest of the tour flew by and before we knew it we were all back in Los Angeles. Every day that we had a day off during the tour Mercedes and I would try to spend an hour or two alone, trying to date. Dating during a tour was something I learned to be a little hectic and daunting. I couldn't count how many times I had to sit through a five hour drive between cities with Santana and Brittany not speaking to each other. Living in such closer quarters with ten other people got to be too much at times. Especially when you knew the exact button to push to send someone over the edge. People would assume that Santana started all the arguments but Brittany was the biggest instigator, she would rehash issues that they had long resolved years before just to get Santana riled up. It made me skeptical to start seeing things move forward with Mercedes, if our friends still fought about petty things, would we? I had to reassure myself that I wasn't Santana and Mercedes wasn't Brittany.

Going back to Los Angeles was good for everyone. It seemed like whatever irked us on tour was automatically resolved once we got home. It did get difficult at times to start a full fledged relationship with Mercedes while we lived together and had Unique shacking up with us. She had spent her first year at UCLA in the dorms but quickly grew tired of it, I knew the feeling. It wasn't like we were keeping our relationship secret, we were just trying to keep the prying eyes of our friends away. We didn't want word to get out to the McKinley alumni until we were both sure of where we saw our relationship going. Brittany was a quiet, shy girl but she was also a huge gossip. I had to laugh at her suggestion of resurrecting Fondue For Two just so we could proclaim our love to the masses.

"We need to tell Sam and Tina," Mercedes casually mentioned as we sat on our couch, wrapped up in each other.

"Do we have to?" I whined. "It's been years since we dated them."

"I know for a fact that you still keep in contact with Tina on a regular basis," she accused. "And I do it too with Sam. We're giving them false hope."

"You don't think one of our spies opened their mouth by now?" I asked. "We've been together for a year now and we've seen our fair share of friends come and go."

"You know for damn sure that if Tina had found out she'd fly three thousand miles and give our asses a strong talking to," Mercedes laughed and nuzzled closer into my neck.

It took more convincing but Mercedes and I were eventually ready to tell our exes about us being together. That was until we got a call from Blaine one day asking us to help him. It seemed as if Tina had gotten into some post graduation slump where all she did was stay in her room all day and sleep. It was a little concerning at first but we all just wrote it off as Tina being Tina, a little over dramatic. That was until Blaine called us again a month or so later still asking for our help. He had recruited everyone he could think of to help him out. I knew that I either had the best or the worst shot at helping her. I didn't have the time or funds to fly to New York and see her but I made an effort to try and call her at least once a day, sometimes she answered and sometimes the phone just kept ringing. That put a lot of things on hold for Mercedes and I. I didn't feel comfortable telling my ex about my new relationship while she was spiraling out of control. I kept in contact with Blaine and Sam at least once a week for updates on Tina. I was honestly getting afraid for her safety, and theirs too.

When I wasn't concerning myself with Tina I tried to get a steady job. Working as a dancer wasn't always easy. Being on tour was a steady job but those only lasted a few weeks or months out of the year. Brittany and I would go on auditions but that was before she and Santana decided they were over the Los Angeles scene and moved to Chicago. Mercedes recorded her third album and did a tour to promote it, leaving me behind in Los Angeles. She had offered me a spot as choreographer but I declined, I needed to spread my wings and branch out. Her being on tour did spark something in me though, she was away for three months and it drove me insane. I missed her more than I truly wanted to admit. I couldn't even vent my frustrations because we were still keeping silent on our relationship, even two and a half years in. The only ones who knew about us were our friends in Los Angeles, but they were still in the dark on all the details.

It wasn't until Mercedes was on her way home from the tour that I had the idea to propose. It felt like a great time to. She was making a name for herself in the music world, she was set career wise and financially. I had just booked a job teaching dance at a local dance studio, it wasn't my ideal job but it was a steady job. I would still be able to do my own thing on the weekends. I got to choreograph and star in a few music videos for people like Justin Timberlake and Chris Brown, which slowly lead to more opportunities. So we were both set and old enough to consider marriage. We had talked about it once or twice before but it always seemed like it was something far away. I didn't realize at twenty four I'd feel the way I felt for someone like I did her. I couldn't keep it inside any longer so I recruited my friends for help. Unique and Artie helped me tremendously, knowing exactly what ring to propose with and how to propose.

"Mike? Babe? Did the lights go out again?" Mercedes asked as she came home one night from a long day of recording. I had all the lights off in the house, the only light was a bunch of lit candles along the staircase and hallway. "Did Unique forget to unplug the toaster while she straightened her hair again?

"No," I laughed and shook my head as I emerged from the kitchen. I took her hand and led her into the living room where I had soft music playing in the background.

"Is it one of our anniversaries or something?" She asked, a look of concern on her face. "You know I'm not that good at remembering dates."

"No missed anniversary," I assured her and motioned for her sit on the couch which she did willingly. "Just wanted a romantic atmosphere."

"Oh," she replied silently and looked around the room. "Why?"

"You just got back from your third sold out tour and we haven't seen each other in three months," I reminded her and kneeled in front of her legs. "We've both been working like crazy."

"I'm back now," she laughed. "I'm not due in the studio for another six months."

"Good," I nodded and looked around the room, a little unsure. "I love you."

"I love you too," she nervously laughed and chewed on her bottom lip. "Mike, you're scaring me. What-what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I quickly reassured her and moved to sit on my heels. "I had this whole big speech and now I'm nervous as hell. Artie and Unique told me to go simple. Those two told me to go simple? Who would've thought."

"Mike, you're rambling."

"Sorry," I apologized and reached in my pocket to pull out the red velvet box.

"Oh my God," Mercedes gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "Yes."

"I didn't even ask yet," I laughed and opened the box and received a squeal of delight. "Mercedes Jones, my best friend for years and the one person I love most in this world."

"Yes."

"Will you let me finish girl?" I asked with a playful laugh. I took the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger. "Like I was saying, I love you and I don't want to hide it anymore. I want to be able to freely talk about my love for you and I want you to talk about me openly in every interview you do. So, will you do me the great honor and marry me?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed and jumped off the couch in excitement, which almost knocked me onto my butt. "Sorry. I love you."

I got up with a laugh at her excitement and kissed her. "Love you."

Word spread fast about our engagement, I didn't expect anything different from our friends honestly. I think Unique took our engagement as a sign to move out, which she did. We didn't want to kick her out but she knew her time living with us was up. She took her time finding a place, she eventually moved in with her friend from school, Isaac. Once word spread that we planned on getting married the next year people starting calling and begging to help or be in the wedding. Mercedes had Rachel, Santana, and Brittany sending her flowers or candy at least once a week, a bribe to be her maid of honor. She chalked it up as childhood fun but we all knew that those three girls weren't playing around. It was going to be a bloodbath and I was excited to get a front row seat to it all.

Over the weeks and months after we received texts and calls from our friends to share their congratulations. Expect from Sam and Tina, which honestly baffled us. It had been years since I dated Tina and same for Sam and Mercedes. We weren't kids anymore, any glimmer of a reconciliation was washed way years ago. Mercedes and Sam had a mature break up when she left New York all those years ago, Tina and I ended things back in high school. Those issues got pushed to the side when Jake and Marley moved out here after they graduated college. It was great to have Jake out here, I had another dance buddy. With Brittany gone it was a little lonely going on auditions or just dancing in the studio. Mercedes flocked to Marley like a moth to a flame, she had another songwriter to bounce ideas off of.

Things just steamrolled from there. Mercedes and I were planning our wedding while working full time. She was back in the studio recording her new album, with the help of Marley. That's what I love the most about her, she was never afraid to share the spotlight with her friends. She featured Santana on her first album and brought Brittany out on her first tour. She didn't even think twice about adding me the second time she toured the country, she just did it. Now that Marley was out here in Los Angeles trying her hand at songwriting, Mercedes didn't even second guess herself when she recorded songs Marley had written. She also featured Jake in the video for her lead single, she did anything to help her friends. Even wearing clothes that Unique specifically made for her, seeing that Unique was trying her hand at fashion. No questions asked, Mercedes did anything to help. Before we knew it, it was our wedding day. All our friends and family arrived in Los Angeles and it all become really real, it was actually happening.

"So we brought you here to air out any issues you may have," Mercedes began and looked across the table at a rather confused looking Sam and Tina.

"Issues?" Sam asked and looked over at me for some sort of help.

"I think what Mercedes is trying to say is, if you have any questions we are willing to answer them for you," I clarified, or at least tried to. Judging by my friends faces I didn't do a good job.

"Still lost," Tina nodded.

"When we announced our engagement everyone congratulated us, except you two," Mercedes said. "That was kind of a red flag for us."

"Like you didn't approve," I added. "Not that we need your approval of course, no offense."

"None taken," Sam waved it off. "I can't speak for Teen, but I just didn't care. I'm super psyched for you two but I had other things to concern myself with."

"Burn," I laughed at the sting of his words. I turned to Mercedes and raised my eyebrow. "Why'd we invite him again?"

"He was your best friend in high school," she guessed with a shrug.

"Hey!" Sam exclaimed in a mocked hurt tone.

"Seriously guys, we're fine with your engagement," Tina assured us and looked over at nodding Sam. "I think we're all grown adults and don't hold any hard feelings towards each other."

"Yea. I know I'm gonna be the first one on the dance floor tomorrow night," Sam laughed. "Celebrating you two."

Our wedding was small and intimate and perfect. Artie was my best man and Unique was the maid of honor. The looks she got from Rachel, Brittany, and Santana were priceless really. Sam did as he promised, he was the first one on the dance floor and stayed there all night laughing and dancing with Tina. I think that was the first time anyone noticed any sort of connection between those two. The only guests that didn't come were Puck and Quinn, which baffled a lot of us and upset Mercedes. We later learned that she was pregnant during that time and no one knew expect Jake and Marley, who I learned are great secret keepers. After our wedding life got hectic. The next year Brittany and Santana got married in Chicago and Puck and Quinn remerged in our lives. For some reason that shocked Rachel the hardest but who really knew why. A year later Mercedes was pregnant, that's when life slapped me across the face, hard.

"I can't be a dad," I panicked.

"Should of thought of that nine months ago," Artie laughed and drank his beer.

"Like it can happen any moment now," I scoffed. "She can pop any minute now."

"Don't let her hear you saying any of this," Jake laughed and poured himself another drink.

I continued to pace in front of my friends in a panic. I had close to nine months to deal with the fact that Mercedes was pregnant and I was going to become a father. Now that she was days away from her due date I was in total panic mode. I was 26 and about to become a dad, I knew I was responsible enough for the job. I was ready, we were ready. On July 2, 2021 Mikyla Whitney Chang was born. She was beautiful and Mercedes was incredible. That day is now etched in my mind forever, I can close my eyes and vividly replay that day. Mercedes was only in labor for ten hours, which we were told is a short time. Our parents flew in the day before and I guess all the excitement triggered Mercedes because that night her water broke and hours later our baby girl was born. Artie was the first person I told and he gladly relayed the message to all our friends.

It's still a little surreal, being a father. There's no book or guide to show you what to do, you just gotta go with the flow and hope you don't royally screw up. By the time we were settled with Mikyla in our lives, Brittany and Santana told us they were adopting a little girl, saying we weren't the only ones allowed to be grown up and have kids. Once Destiny arrived it felt like all my friends decided it was time to grow up. Jake proposed to Marley which lead to a grand affair that was their wedding a year later. After they got married, Santana and Brittany adopted again, this time a little boy they named Christopher. It was weird to see all my friends as grown ups. We just all went with the motions of living, never really giving adulthood a thought. We all had adult jobs, making adult money, and getting married and having children. Ryder and Kitty were next on the marriage train followed behind Sam and Tina announcing their engagement. We all saw that one coming, they were all over each other at Jake and Marley's wedding, secret relationship my ass. Mercedes and I were pros at that one.

We finally picked Artie up from the motel he was staying at while we was in Lima before we made our way over to Breadstix for the pre wedding day dinner we were all invited into. Of course we were the first ones to arrive because my wife once again needed to pee, her pregnancy bladder was getting smaller and smaller by the month. It was just the three of us for a few minutes before Kitty and Ryder showed up and threw Artie for a loop, I guess someone forget to tell him that they were married. Oops. Blaine arrived shortly after and we caught up on life. He asked us about Los Angeles and Mikyla while we asked him about New York and the soon to be married couple. We were all getting a little antsy waiting for the Evans and Cohen-Chang families to arrive.

"Finally," I huffed when the soon to be married couple finally arrived.

"Sorry," Tina sheepishly replied. "I had a few work things to tend to before we left."

"I told you to leave work behind for the next week," Blaine jokingly scolded her and pulled her into a hug. "Your class will still be there even if you're not."

"I'm glad you're here," Tina said to Artie. "Mike and Mercedes too."

"Yea, why are they here?" Ryder asked.

"Mike and Mercedes took us out to dinner when they got engaged," Sam explained. "As a way, I guess, to ask our permission. Which in turn brought Tina and I together."

"That's all of the story we can divulge in front of our parents," Tina teased. "Let's just say that a lot of tequila was involved."

The dinner was warm and light hearted and filled with laughs and an embarrassing story or two. I saw how out of place Artie felt but didn't want to bring it up at the restaurant. He was so sheltered by Mercedes and I back in Los Angeles that to see a lot of his old friends in once place probably shocked him a little. We dropped him off at his hotel with the promise to pick him up the next morning before we went back to the Mercedes' childhood home. Luckily Mikyla was fast asleep. Early the next morning we woke up and got dressed as best as we could with a toddler at our feet at all times. My daughter was filled with energy and excitement at all times, she may have gotten that from me. She understood that she was going to be a big sister soon so she wanted to soak up all the free time with Mercedes and I that she could. I totally understood her, I was an only child and the thought of having a sibling was a little upsetting. Mikyla was excited but also a little nervous that she would lose the attention we gave her.

Once we were ready to go we said goodbye to Mikyla and headed out to pick up Artie. Once at the church, Artie stuck by us once again. I wanted to mingle with my friends but I didn't want to leave Artie alone. We took our seats in the church as I waved to the people I recognized around me, a few of Tina's family members and a few of my friends from high school. The ceremony was short and sweet and extremely intimate. As the pastor announced them man and wife I grabbed Mercedes hand and smiled sweetly at her. I loved her, I did, but to see Tina getting married sat oddly with me. It wasn't even the fact that she was marrying Sam that upset me, it was just her getting married. Tina, the girl I devoted a large part of two years to. The girl who was the reason why I went to the Joffrey, the reason why I became a dancer. If it wasn't for her I would've become a doctor like my father wanted. A doctor who danced for fun on his downtime, a doctor who would end up giving up his true passion for a partial one.

"It's okay," Mercedes reassured me with a whisper.

I watched for a moment as the wedding party walked down the aisle and out the church. "Thank you."

The rest of us filled out right behind the wedding party. A bunch of us waited outside the church for our cars or other friends before heading to the reception. I let Mercedes call her mom and check on Mikyla while I spotted Puck and Quinn talking to Jake and Marley.

"Mike!" Puck called to me when he saw me approach the small group. "Little brother here was just telling us stories of sunny Los Angeles."

"It's not that sunny," I teased. "It does rain sometimes."

"I live in New England," Quinn warned. "It snows nine months out of the year."

"Yea, living in Cali is sweet," I concluded. "How are you guys doing though?"

"Good," Puck was quick to answer. "It's good to get away for a few days. Leave the kids with my mom and just enjoy life."

I suspiciously looked over at Jake, hoping he knew what was going on with his brother. All I received was a shrug and a shake of his head. Marley looked just as lost as Jake but continued to talk to Quinn about kids and family life. A little while later Marley spotted Unique talking to Mercedes so the three of us said our goodbyes to Puck and Quinn before we moved on. As our group gathered I kept glancing over my shoulder at the friends I had just left, concerned. Nothing seemed out of place or wrong but I had this unsettling feeling. I wasn't going to pry, that wasn't my place, but I was allowed to be a little concerned for my friends. The fact that Jake didn't know what was going on didn't help at all. We eventually did get to the reception where once again Mercedes checked in on our daughter. Yes, I missed her but I also trusted my in laws to take care of her just fine.

After we all stuffed our faces at the cocktail hour we were escorted into the main reception room. Of course we were all seated together. I was smack dab in between my wife and Brittany. Artie sat directly behind me at the other table. It was a bummer to have him and Blaine split up from us but Tina and Sam obviously had their reasons. I sat directly across from Puck and Quinn, who I casually spied on from time to time that night. The bridal party was introduced shortly after we all took our seats and Blaine and Kitty sang for Sam and Tina's first dance. A Maroon 5 song of course, typical Blaine. I took the hand Mercedes offered me and got up to dance with her, occasionally saying a quick hello to the other people on the dance floor. Once the song was over Mercedes went to check in on Artie and Mikyla. I was about to walk off the dance floor but Brittany grabbed my arm and demanded that I dance with her.

"We haven't danced together since my wedding," she whined with a pout.

"It isn't a party until we dance together," I agreed and spun her around with ease.

"Exactly," she nodded and twirled herself. "I miss dancing with you and Jake."

"The studio and auditions feel a little lonely without you," I confessed. "Jake is great but it was me and you for so many years."

"Teaching yoga is getting a little boring," she sighed. "I need to dance again, but it's hard. Santana is always busy with work so I've got to watch the kids a lot of the time."

"I've still got connections in Chicago I can call for you," I suggested. "Just something to get your feet wet."

"I don't know, Mike," she shook her head, unsure. "Chris and Destiny don't need two absent parents. I have a good, steady job that I can't just abandon."

"Why are you allowed to stop your dreams while Santana lives hers?" I asked as we stopped dancing as couples still danced around us.

"Mike," she simply replied. Her eyes briefly scanned the room before returning to mine. "I need to find Santana and check on the kids."

"Brittany," I called to her as she began to walk away. She turned and waited for me to speak. "Just think about what I suggested. I don't need an answer right away, just think it over."

"I-I will," she replied after a long pause and walked away from the dance floor.

I stayed on the dance floor a while longer until I saw Mercedes and Artie return to their seats. By that time the food was slowly being served and I was getting a little hungry. Sitting down to eat became a little tense, I could see Quinn trying to keep up appearances with her and Puck and whatever issues those two were having. Next to me I could see the wheels turning in Brittany's mind, outside of Santana I could safely say I knew Brittany the best. She was like me in some aspects, she lived to dance. When they moved to Chicago and started having children Brittany gave up her career for something more stable, I don't blame her, I did the same thing. I let Mercedes continue with her music career while I began to teach dance in a studio Jake and I built together. I pushed my career aside so the person I love could keep living her dream.

I pushed all my feelings of concern aside so I could enjoy myself. Anytime I could get up to dance I did. I danced with Mercedes a few times but when she got tried or her feet began to hurt I scooped up somebody else to dance with. Marley was on the floor a lot with me as was Unique and a few times I danced with Tina, which was great. I think dancing with Tina resolved any issues I may have had with her getting married. I never dared verbalize my insecurities or fears but dancing with her seemed to solve everything for me. The best man and matron of honor speeches were touching and a real crowd pleasers. Watching Sam and Tina smash each other's faces with cake was hilarious. That was a tradition I enjoyed seeing at all my friends weddings.

"We're doing shots!" Puck announced and stood up from the table. "Kurt, Mike, care to join me?"

I looked over at my wife as Kurt got up and followed behind Puck. "Can I?"

"Of course," she teasingly laughed and gave me a quick kiss. "Go have fun with the boys."

I quickly thanked her before I got up and went to the bar. Ryder, Jake, and Blaine were already there and Sam joined us seconds later. It took some coaxing from the Puckerman brothers but Artie relented and joined us. We all had Jameson shots shoved in our hands before we somberly but proudly toasted Finn. It just seemed appropriate to toast to the man that bridged all of us together. I had the privilege of knowing him before glee but it was because of that club that we became true friends, and also due to that club I was friends with all the people I was taking shots with. The party eventually died down and I finally got to bed around three in the morning. I slightly regretted agreeing to meet my friends at the Lima Bean the next morning for a bros brunch. I dropped Mercedes off at her girls brunch before I picked Artie up and headed to the coffee shop. I thought I felt and looked like crap, boy was I wrong. Artie looked horrible.

"Coffee is beautiful," I gushed as Blaine passed Artie and I our coffees once we arrived. "I hardly slept, Mikyla heard us come home and refused to fall back asleep."

"I'm just hungover," Ryder tried to laugh but immediately grabbed his head as he did. "I'm not twenty one anymore. I keep forgetting that."

"Hey," I looked over to Jake and whispered. "Did you find out what's wrong with your brother?"

Jake looked over at Puck briefly and shook his head. "Not a damn thing. But it's obvious that him and Quinn are putting up some sort of facade."

"Mercedes mentioned that she noticed it too," I nodded. "Quinn kept thinking before she replied, like she was trying to remember her lies or something."

"Well, my brother and I don't have the best relationship," Jake reminded me with a strained laugh. "That doesn't mean I don't care about what's going on. We're all having a family dinner before we leave so I'll get to the bottom of it."

"Yea," I agreed and patted his arm. "Take care of him."

I returned my attention back to my friends after my little interlude with Jake. I was concerned about Puck and Quinn but I also know when to mind my own business, obviously something was going on between those two but I needed to let them figure it out themselves, same with Brittany and Santana. All I could do was be there if they needed me and that was it. I had my own life to live with my wife and child and another one on the way. I drank my coffee and ate my stale muffin as I casually followed the conversations going on around me. Despite all the issues and problems going on around me it was great to have all the guys in one place again. It reminded me of senior year when Puck gathered us all in the locker room and handed us shot glasses from homes he had worked in. It was that bros moment that really connected us, and eventually we brought Jake and Ryder and of course Kurt into our little group. We were all tied to the same place, the same people and I wouldn't change that for the world.


	6. Tina

**A/N: **Miss me? Sorry for the delay in updating, life got in the way and Brittany has been a bitch to write even though I love her dearly. Anyway, just a heads up with this chapter there are mentions of sexual abuse of a minor, alcoholism and Finn.

**Tina**

"Soledad, s-slow down, what's wrong?"

"There may or may not be a small flood in your office."

"What!" I shrieked. "How the hell did that happen?"

"Well, you know how they're renovating the apartments upstairs and I guess a pipe burst and now there's about two feet of water in your office," she informed me sheepishly.

"Perfect," I sighed and rubbed my temples, trying to reduce the now ache in my head. "I don't need this happening the day before my wedding when I'm not in New York."

"It's totally under control though," she quickly assured me. "We've got the plumbers working on it and the super is here too."

"Fix it fast," I seethed. "Call me with updates, please."

"Got it," she replied before hanging up.

I stared at my phone momentarily before throwing it across the room where it luckily landed on the bed. I had a million little things to do before my big day tomorrow and now that I knew my office was now a mini pool wasn't helping calm my nerves. On top of my office issues, half of the things I needed for tomorrow hadn't arrived yet. The flowers were now going to arrive bright and early tomorrow morning instead of today, so I had to arrange them last minute. Nothing ever went according to plan. And of course I was currently standing in my childhood bedroom in my robe, sidetracked by my phone call, I didn't have time to get dressed for my pre wedding dinner. I could faintly hear my family and Sam's talking in the other room, probably waiting for me to get ready. I checked in with Blaine quickly who I learned hadn't even left to head over to Breadsix yet, perfect.

"Teen," Sam knocked softly on the door before opening it and closing it behind him. "Babe, what's wrong?"

"Everything!" I over dramatically wailed and fell into his open arms.

"Tina," he repeated my name sternly as he began to rub my back in comfort. "Let's be realistic please."

"The flowers aren't arriving until tomorrow morning and my office back in New York is flooded," I rattled off shakily.

"Soledad can deal with the office and you know my mom is more than willing to handle the flowers tomorrow," he informed me. He gently kissed the top of my head and sighed. "Everything will be fine, just get ready. We don't want to keep everyone waiting."

"Thank you," I told him sincerely and looked up at him, into his beautiful green eyes, eyes that I was going to have the privilege of looking into for the rest of my life. "I love you."

I always knew I was a control freak but once I graduated high school it took over. I was alone in Rhode Island with no one I knew around me, I had to take control over my own life. After I visited New York for Rachel's opening night I went into overdrive with my life. I went from major to major at least twice a semester. I started off with law but changed it to women's studies by the end of my freshman year. Sophomore year I was a psychology and sociology major, junior year I decided to chose performance arts. Seeing Blaine up on the stage in My Fair Lady sparked something in me. I always knew I wanted a career in the performing arts but now to see two friends of mine succeed refueled my fire.

It wasn't easy but after much consideration and talking it over with both Blaine and Kurt I applied and got into NYU for my senior year. I was elated, l beyond ecstatic. I was in the city where dreams came true and I hoped I could achieve mine. I arrived in New York a week after Sam returned from Lima. I causally kept up with him, mostly via texts or the stupid vines he promised me senior year. I kept tabs on him via Kitty, until she graduated. She went off to college and I was trying to find my footing in New York. It was honestly everything I dreamed of during high school. I was surrounded by all the people I cared about the most. I was living in Rachel's old room, seeing she was in Los Angeles being a TV star. Blaine and Kurt shared the room across from me and like typical Sam, he slept on the couch. Artie came by every Monday night for the newly reinstated potluck dinner.

"This is my first New York potluck dinner," I smiled as we all sat around the kitchen table.

Kurt smiled from his seat next to me and raised his glass. "A toast to the future and the new face of the New York crew."

"To the new New York," Blaine agreed and raised his glass and clinked it with mine then Kurt's.

"I like the sound of that," I replied and looked at the four boys sitting around me. "This was how I pictured college life, being surrounded by my best friends and doing what I want to."

My last year of college and my first year in New York was amazing. I just soaked up everything that I could, I went to as many shows and musicals I could. I saw Blaine in My Fair Lady at least six times during his first three months in the show. I went as Artie's date to whatever film festival in Brooklyn that showed his movies or documentaries, I sat and ran lines with Kurt as he tried out pieces for auditions. It was great to feel needed. Sam decided to take photography and art classes at the local YMCA and asked me to help him create his portfolio when he went on job interviews. I enjoyed my three years at Brown, it gave me the kind of independence I was looking for at that time, but New York was more my scene and style of life.

Graduation came and things became a little rocky. Artie was on the next flight out of the city and in all honesty that sucked. He got his degree and a one way ticket to Los Angeles in one day, barely even saying goodbye before he packed up all his things and moved out west. Sam was flourishing with his rediscovered passion for art. He had his photography shown at local galleries in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, which was a great stepping stone for him. Blaine left My Fair Lady shortly after graduation and within six months he was cast as Jack Kelly in Newsies, a part he was perfect for. Kurt was doing shows here and there off Broadway and on his spare time we was writing his own show. They were all doing something with their time while I was just taking up space in the loft. I went on a few auditions during pilot season and even for a few Broadway and off Broadway shows but all they wanted me to play was the stereotypical Asian girl. I didn't go to Brown then NYU to get type cast. I refused.

"Tina, what's you goal for the future?" Kurt asked as the two of us lounged on the couch watching daytime TV.

"My goal?" I asked. "Sit here and do nothing."

"Tina."

"What, Kurt?" I snapped. "What do you expect me to do? I've been putting myself out there for what, decoration?"

"A few rejections shouldn't dictate your life," he encouraged me.

"Easy for you to say," I scoffed and flipped through the channels. "You're in a show and working on your own stuff while Blaine is the darling of Broadway and even Sam is doing his photography stuff."

"If you're looking for a pity party you're not getting it from me," he bluntly told me.

"Did I say I was?" I asked with a raised voice. I sat up and turned to face Kurt properly. "You have no idea all the crap I've been through since graduation. It's like you guys don't care."

"We care," he stressed.

"Yea okay," I huffed with a roll of my eyes. "You all treat me like I'm a lost puppy, but I'm not lost. I'm right here, Kurt."

After that I hit rock bottom. I became a shell of myself, I was watching everyone around me succeeded and I felt like I was drowning. I moved to New York expecting some kind of success but all I got was a bunch of nothing. I felt as if I wasted a year of my life for nothing, a year I could've spent in Brown getting a real college degree in a major I could've used. Instead I was sitting in a shitty loft in Brooklyn collecting dust. It broke my spirit. On top of all my professional failure, Unique had so kindly informed me that Mike and Mercedes were secretly dating. Thanks a ton for that. I wasn't jealous of their relationship, I was just jealous of their personal and professionally success while I floundered. I was even embarrassed to return to Lima for holidays, my parents were so disappointed in me. They had spent a lot of money on both Brown and NYU just so I can show nothing from my education.

I turned to alcohol, shocking I know. It helped numb the pain and the voices in my head, the ones that never shut up. I was careful to hide it at first, have a drink or two when someone was home or when we went out to dinner. Once I was alone, which happened a lot, I'd drink a whole bottle of Jack Daniels on an empty stomach. I started to crave the burning sensation my throat felt as I drank. It was a drug to me. It got to the point where I would wake up in the middle of the night just to take a swig of the alcohol by my nightstand. Two months into my addiction, I couldn't hide it anymore. I thought Sam and Blaine were having one of their bro days while Kurt was at work, so I sat on the couch in my pajamas eating Cheetos and drinking Jack straight from the bottle. Little did I know that a little bit of rain ruined their plans and they were home hours before I thought they were going to be.

"Tina!"

"Crap," I cursed and tried to clean up the obvious mess I made.

"What the hell are you doing?" Blaine scolded and walked directly towards me. He grabbed the chips out my hand and confiscated the now empty bottle off the coffee table. "We-were you drinking?"

"At ten in the morning!" Sam added. "Tina!"

"Leave me alone, Sam," I begged him and stood up, brushing the crumbs off my clothes. "You guys don't understand."

"Understand what?" Blaine asked, his eyes full of concern.

"Nothing," I brushed him off. I began to pace around the apartment and felt my hands start to shake. My body was slowly becoming dependent on liquor and even going a few minutes without it triggered my tremors. I walked to the kitchen and checked all the cupboards for anything.

"What are you looking for?" Sam asked.

I spun around and shook my head. "Mind your business, Sam. Please."

"No," he said sternly as Blaine joined him in the kitchen. "We're concerned about you, Tina."

"You don't need to be," I reassured them. "I-I'm fine, really, I promise."

"You're drinking at ten in the morning," Blaine stressed and placed his hands on his hips. "You're not fine."

"Leave me alone!" I shouted and rushed into the bathroom. I spotted the mouth wash we had on the sink and took a deep, calming breath before taking a sip of it. The mint flavor burned my throat but it had a twinge of alcohol in it, I needed it.

"Oh my god, Tina. Are you crazy?" I heard Sam ask as he ripped the bottle out of my hands. "You have a serious problem."

"I'm fine," I stressed and brushed past him to head to my room. One thing I hated about the loft was the lack of privacy, a curtain couldn't hide much. "Why don't we have fucking doors!"

"Tina," Blaine called to me as he walked into my room and sat on my bed. "What's wrong? You know you can talk to us."

"No I can't," I shook my head and sat next to him. "You're never here. No one is ever here."

"We're here now," Blaine said.

"Too little too late," I mumbled.

After that I began to spiral even more. My issues with alcohol dependency was out in the open and I couldn't even hide it anymore. My three roommates tried to stop me but it never worked. They did set up a plan that someone stayed with me at all times, pathetic. I didn't need a babysitter. The more creative they got, the more creative I became. I'd slip a little shot of whiskey or bourbon in my morning coffee before anyone woke up to calm my nerves, no one ever seemed to notice. I'd hide a little liquor bottle in my toiletry bag to take with me when I went into the shower, all I needed to do was brush my teeth and no one could smell it on my breath. I became an evil genius. My friends thought it was a good idea to have the old McKinley crew call and text me endlessly to show some sort of support. It was sad though. All these people claimed that they cared but I knew they didn't, no one did. They all just pitied me and probably only did it as a favor for Blaine or Sam, the ones they really cared about. Mike was the one who endlessly called me, which I never picked up. He'd send encouraging messages, trying to remind me of the girl I once was.

It didn't work though, nothing did. It got to the point that sometime around Thanksgiving I was becoming holed up in my room. I slowed down on the drinking seeing I hardly had any money to spend by that time. I stayed in my room and refused to leave unless it was absolutely necessary. I even refused to speak to anyone, they would talk and talk to me but I never said a word back. I felt betrayed, they easily spilled my secrets to everyone and never once let me just be me, flaws and all. On nights where they all thought I went to bed I could faintly hear Sam and Blaine have conversations about me. It did break my heart to hear them suffer, but they didn't understand. No one did. I uprooted my entire life in Rhode Island to come to New York, for what. Rejection and failure. I just wasn't cut out for the city life, so I stayed locked up in my room and away from the world.

"Where is she?" I sat up in my bed as I heard the loft door slam shut and the familiar female voice wailing through the apartment.

"She's sleeping," Kurt said.

"Again," Sam sighed in discontent. "That's all she ever does."

"I don't care," the female voice snapped. "I'm waking her up and smacking her around."

"Kitty," Blaine groaned. "She doesn't need another person on her case."

"Too bad," Kitty replied and I could almost predict that she shrugged her shoulders with her infamous eye roll. I heard the distinct click of her heels on the hardwood floors before my privacy curtain was thrown open. "Oh, you're awake."

I gave her a small smile of acknowledgement as I pulled my covers up to my chin and closer to my body. Using them as some sort of shield to protect myself from whatever Kitty was going to throw my way.

"You're pathetic," she spat out. "Poor little Tina Cohen-Chang, she can't get any acting gigs so she'll drink herself blind and lock herself up in her room, hoping someone will take pity on her." Kitty began to pace in front of my bed, you could just feel the anger and venom in her deep breaths. "You don't deserve to feel pity from anyone, you have no idea what real pain feels like."

I sat up in my bed and looked around my room, slowly starting to feel fear seeping into my chest. I was use to catty, bitchy Kitty but this was something different.

"I was molested by my best friend's brother when I was eleven, a fucking child," she seethed and continued to pace back and forth without a real direction. "I was teased endlessly that I had to transfer schools because of it. I had my innocence ripped from me because some teenaged boy couldn't keep it in his pants."

I wanted to say something, tell her I'm sorry and I wish she would've told me sooner so I could help her deal with all her pain. Then I remembered the story Ryder told us in the choir room all those years ago and now Kitty's reaction to that made perfect sense.

"Then I dated both Puckerman brothers sophomore year," she scoffed and refocused my attention. "I purposely dated them to numb the pain I felt, slept with Puck to dull the ache in my chest. Then that same year three important things were ripped from me without my consent. Finn died, we lost glee club, and Artie and I broke up. That fucking sucked."

I broke eye contact with her at the mention of Finn's name. We all had a difficult time readjusting after he died, I still was readjusting to it at times.

"So don't tell me that I don't know pain," she begged me and finally sat on my bed to face me. She grabbed my hand and gave it two quick squeezes out of comfort. "I refuse to see you like this, see you become the girl I use to be. It's not easy but the pain does eventually go away, it just takes the right people by your side. God, Tina I'm dating Ryder Lynn for Christ sake. But he's my greatest support system, which I'll never admit to his face of course."

I let a laugh escape my lips and quickly covered my mouth up with my free hand.

"You have a great support system," she stressed. "These guys, even though they're total nerds, love you unconditionally. I love you, I flew coach, next to a fat smelly guy just to be here for you. If that doesn't show that I care, I don't know what will."

After Kitty left I felt anger, embarrassment, resentment, pain, anguish, and all these other emotions I couldn't even name. I truly was pathetic, I was asking for a pity party from everyone while other people had their own lives to deal with. I just sat in my room and cried, I cried out of anger and sadness, for myself and everyone else in my life. I had put them through so much for no real reason. I let Blaine, Sam, and Kurt huddle around me and let them freely hug me and sooth me into a numbing sleep. When I eventually woke up the next day, Sam was the only one home. I ventured out into the kitchen and living room for the first time in months. It felt weird but right at the same time. I wasn't back to normal, far from it, but I was slowly regaining my balance on life. Life slowly started to progress from there, I began to let people back into my life. Sam helped the most, seeing he was around the most. He'd come back from wherever he was that day and try one of his new impressions on me. A large majority of the time they didn't work but when they did I couldn't help but laugh.

Blaine came home one day and started to tear up at the sound of my laugh. That's what set me off, to see the pain in his eyes finally wash away was overwhelming for me. Kitty was right, they loved me unconditionally. Around that time Blaine and Kurt amicably broke up, to say it was a shock would be a lie. I saw first hand that those two were just going through the motions of life together instead of actually living it. At first I blamed myself and my issues for their demise, which they quickly denied. They both were happy and that's all the mattered in the end. I was almost back to being a hundred percent again by the time we all flew to Los Angeles for Mike and Mercedes wedding. I swear I could not make this stuff up if I tried. Blaine and Kurt constantly asked if Sam and I were okay, which we absolutely were. The oddest part of that weekend was the dinner Mike and Mercedes took us to, a dinner to air out whatever issues we may have had with them. It left me feeling confused but content with where we all were at with our lives.

"Tina," Sam cooed as he open my hotel room door wider. "I have a gift."

"Sam," I sighed as I spotted the tequila bottle in his hand.

"I know, I know," he replied as he closed the door with his foot. "Alcohol around Tina is a bad idea, but I know for a fact that we both need it right about now."

"Oh we do?" I teased as Sam sat next to me on the bed.

"Our exes are marrying each other tomorrow," he laughed in disbelief.

"I'm okay with it," I reminded him. "Obviously you're not."

"I am," he quickly assured me. "But I just need to dull the little ache I have in my chest cause of it."

"Fine," I huffed, giving in and grabbing the bottle out of his hands. "To dulling the ache."

"Amen," Sam laughed as he watched me take a generous sip. "That shit burns like a bitch."

"You get use to it," I shrugged and passed the bottle. "It felt comforting after a while."

Drinking a bottle of tequila with Sam was probably the best and worst idea I have ever had. It helped us drown our pent up sadness and brought us closer together, before it was always just us and Blaine. Never just me and Sam, until that random nostalgia filled make out session senior year. Sam and I were friends because we shared Blaine in common, even though we lived together. Blaine was our anchor, the thing that kept us afloat and tethered us together. The downside to drinking with him was that it ended up with us having sex. Awkward, angry, sadness sex. If that even makes sense. We just chalked it up to filing the void we had within ourselves. I didn't regret it the next morning but it did feel a little awkward looking at Sam the rest of the day.

Everything just started to slowly look up from there. I don't want to admit it, but maybe drinking myself into oblivion and sleeping with Sam woke something up inside me. I went back to New York after the wedding with a fire burning inside of me. Everyone was excited to see me well again and I was honestly happy to feel good again. I had a fiery passion burning inside of me and with the help of a friend of mine from NYU, Jenna Taylor, who majored in business, I decided to open my own acting school. I wasn't putting my dreams of stardom and success to the side but if I could help someone else I was more than willing to. Kurt and Blaine immediately jumped on the idea and with a little convincing Rachel was on board too. I hated to ask them but they all helped me out financially. It started out small, just one room I rented out every month and taught just a small handful of kids. Six months in I was in Chicago for Santana and Brittany's wedding where Puck and Quinn reemerged in our lives.

"So, did you hear about Rachel screaming at Quinn?" I asked Marley at the reception.

"What? Why?" Marley asked, now I had her full attention.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "All I heard was Finn's name being thrown around from time to time."

"Whoa," Marley marveled. "That's deep."

"What are you two talking about?" Jake asked as he walked to the table with our drinks.

"Nothing," Marley was quick to reply.

Jake shook his head and took a seat next to Marley with a sigh. "You're gossiping again. Marl, I expect that from Tina not from you."

"Hey!" I exclaimed in feigned shock. "It's not gossip if it's true."

"It's about Quinn and Rachel," Marley added.

"I don't wanna know," Jake told us. "Family or not, it's not any of my business or yours for that matter."

"Fine," I huffed and folded my arms over my chest.

On the plane ride back from Chicago I learned enough by Rachel's expression not to press the Quinn issues. Whatever happened obviously effected both parties so I was going to stay far away from them. Once I got back to New York I refocused all my attention on my school, the number of students who were enrolled kept growing. The beauty of word of mouth I guess. I felt bad for these kids, taking acting lessons from someone who had no experience outside of school. It took a good two weeks of convincing but Blaine and Rachel agreed to make cameo appearances in some of my classes. If these kids wanted acting tips why not get some from the pros. Kurt even agreed to teach a class every Tuesday, it was great to spend time alone with him.

Once the school was open for a year we moved to a bigger room. That's where the idea of opening my own full fledged school came about. My school was making a name for itself, it had what other schools didn't. I had real life Broadway and TV actors teaching seminars. Other schools just had washed up soap opera actors teaching it, I had found my niche. I didn't want to impose on my friends lives but they were more than willing to help out. I even had Cooper Anderson pop into one of my classes when he visited New York, the class ate him up. I had to chuckle at the memory of him teaching glee club about acting junior year. Around that time Mike and Mercedes had their daughter, which shook my foundation momentarily. Next thing I knew, Brittany and Santana were adopting their daughter.

Things started to get a little shaky around the loft. Even though we were only down to three people it still felt too small. It just felt weird to know that the people who initially rented the loft no longer lived there. Kurt moved out after the break up and moved in with Rachel and Santana was off in Chicago being a mom and a wife. I honestly felt bad for Sam, he'd been living on the couch for years by this time. He never complained, at least not to my knowledge. No one wanted to budge and move out though, we knew someone needed to but no one wanted to. We had found a good rhythm between the three of us, no one got in anyone's way. We were all too busy with work anyway. Blaine had eight shows a week and I was at my school at all hours of the day. Sam was making a name for himself with his photography, he was being shown in art galleries all over the city. He found it ironic that for years he craved to be in front of the camera and now he was more comfortable behind it. Around early October that year Blaine left for London to open the West End production of Newsies, leaving me and Sam alone.

"Confession," Sam announced when he walked to the couch, passing me my ham and cheese sandwich.

"Thank you," I replied. "What's your confession?"

"Remember when we slept together before Mike and Mercedes wedding?" He asked, I nodded as I took a bite of my sandwich. "I think we should do that again."

I was glad I swallowed my bite or otherwise I would've choked. Was he out of his mind. "W-what?"

"Fact: we're both in relationship slumps," he observed. "I haven't been on a date since god knows when. The last two weddings we went to, you were basically my date. And lord knows when the last time you went out."

"Rude," I huffed and sat back on the couch. "True though. But I'm too busy with work to actually date someone."

"That's why we should sleep together," he reiterated his initial point. "Like friends with benefits."

"That doesn't always work, Sam," I kindly reminded him. "Someone is gonna catch feelings and someone will get hurt."

"That's why we're setting up ground rules," he replied and bit into his sandwich.

I watched Sam as he chewed and had to smile at myself. This by far was the most bizarre conversation I had ever had. "Okay."

"Okay?" He asked in shock.

"I'm down," I laughed at my choice of words.

"Sweet."

Thus began the most awkward relationship of my life. When I was younger I had a concrete idea of how relationships were supposed to work. It was nice and sweet with Artie freshman year and it was adult and painful and exciting with Mike for the next two years. I had thought I had found the love of my life at sixteen when I dated Mike. I knew that ship had sailed for good when he married Mercedes. I dated here and there while at Brown but no one too seriously, I was away from home for the first time in my life, I wanted to enjoy myself. I was far from searching for the love of my life my first two years in New York, I wasn't in the right mind space anyway. So the agreement with Sam sounded like a great idea. It was difficult at first, trying to sneak off and be together without Blaine noticing. It was hard talking to Jenna and Kitty without wanting to tell them everything. I felt like a bad friend, withholding vital information from them.

A year into our little agreement I noticed the shift. At first I just wrote it off seeing that Sam and I were first and foremost friends. It was around the time Santana and Brittany adopted Chris that I realized that Sam and I were actually dating. We'd spend any free time we had together, we'd go out to dinner or the movies and I found myself interested in what he was doing with his life. The sex part of our relationship changed too. We use to just sleep together to scratch an itch we both had but now it felt like it had meaning behind it. It wasn't just sex anymore, there was something else behind it. My feelings for him slowly started to surface, it didn't all happen at once. I'd catch myself staring at him as he developed his film in the bathroom or sit by the window in my bedroom and just sketch the buildings around us. Blaine wasn't oblivious to all of this either, he may have caught us making out on the couch once or twice. But he shockingly didn't mind it, he just sat us down and warned us that he wasn't going to take sides if things went south.

Shortly after that Marley and Jake got engaged and decided to have a extravagant wedding in California. The two people who were the opposite of grand and extravagant were throwing the party of the year. Once again I went with Sam as my unofficial date. That's where we kept getting stares from all our friends. We only danced with each other or Blaine when he wasn't parading around the dance floor with Marley or Kitty. I tried to ignore the looks but it was hard to. Kitty of course added her two cents whenever she could, stating the obvious. She knew me better than I knew myself, even though she lived in Ohio she knew how I felt about Sam just by looking at him.

"Blaine," I called to him from my room.

"Yea T?" He asked and sat on my bed, immediately seeing the panic on my face. "W-what's wrong?"

"I think I love Sam," I replied sheepishly and bit my lip, embarrassed.

"Oh," he simply replied. He had his all knowing look on his face, which drove me up a wall. "Tina, that's great."

"How?" I asked.

"It just is," he reassured me, patting my hand with his. "You can't help who you fall in love with, it just happens."

"But that wasn't part of our agreement!" I exclaimed. "Sex, no feelings."

"Things change obviously," Blaine shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Tina, I've had a front row seat to the dance you and Sam have been doing. From the looks of it, it's stopped being about sex a long time ago."

"I didn't want to fall for him," I sighed heavily. "But he's great."

"I know," he laughed. "Remember my crush senior year? His lips and impressions? Pure crushable crack, I believe you called it."

"He's more than that though," I explained. "He's complex and his talents are endless and he takes my breath away with his kiss and lord his body is beautiful."

"Okay that's enough," Blaine interrupted with a laugh. "Tell him how you feel. If he freaks out, it's his loss."

I had the nerve and actually told Sam how I felt and shockingly enough he felt the same way. I didn't know until recently but the day before I spoke to Blaine he had done the same, confessing the same thing as me. It's strange in a way but Sam and I were great together. It took us years of knowing each other to really know each other. The say the greatest relationships start from friendships and ours did just that. Now I couldn't imagine being with anyone else, all the guys I dated in my life was just a test until I met Sam. It sounds corny and cheesy but I feel like it's true. All my struggles in the relationship department was just a test of who I was. It taught me about my inner strength and the type of man I wanted in my life as an adult. All of our friends were really supportive too, no one seemed shocked that Sam and I ended up together.

My personal life was soaring at the same that I finally got stability with my professional life. My school was still up and running and it was successful enough that I didn't need to be there all the time. It took us a few years but we eventually rented out our own little building and ran the school from there. Finally, after years of struggling and just plain giving up, I booked my first TV gig. It was small but it got my foot in the door. Rachel knew somebody who knew somebody who was looking for a girl in her mid twenties for a walk on role for a show FOX was filming in New York. They were looking for someone who was new on the scene but had acting experience, thank god for Rachel because that role changed my life. It was a one episode gig that turned into a five episode arc that eventually turned into a lead role the next season. Marie Cho was not the stereotypical character I was always pegged to play, she was complex and kicked ass and held no prisoners.

I always described Marie Cho as the love child of Olivia Benson and Cristina Yang, she was an undercover DEA agent in New York. It was amazing to film in New York, for many reasons. I didn't have to travel far for work and the city became a character in the show. I was also really lucky to be apart of a show that was already established. All my friends were huge supporters, I get texts after every show full of praises from them. Kurt, Rachel, Sam, and Blaine all held viewing parties whenever an episode aired. It felt good, I was always the first person to show support for my friends so to receive their support was overwhelming. Once filming wrapped for the season Kitty called me and told me that her and Ryder were engaged and requested that Sam and I were the best man and maid of honor, also around that time Marley gave birth to little JJ. Everything perfect and wonderful was happening around me, it was a surreal feeling.

"I'm moving out," Blaine announced the day after we came home from Ryder and Kitty's wedding.

"What? Why?" I asked, shocked.

"When we were younger, this loft had enough room for the three of us. Now it doesn't," he explained. "I feel like I'm imposing on your relationship."

"Dude," Sam said. "You've never been a third wheel."

"I also feel like you two can't grow with me here," Blaine added. "I saw you at the wedding and heard all the questions everyone asked you, about marriage, then I'd get all the sad, pathetic looks from our friends."

"Blainey Days," I sympathetically cooed.

"It's okay Ting Ting," he comforted me. "I'm almost thirty and living in the same place since I was nineteen, with my friends who happen to be in a serious, committed relationship. It's my time to go."

"Are you sure?" Sam double checked.

"Yea," he nodded his head quickly. "I'm not going far, I got a place in Williamsburg, so I won't be far."

"Fine," I sighed, giving in. "This place won't be the same without you though."

It wasn't long after Ryder and Kitty came back from their honeymoon that she was pregnant. I was over the moon for them. Also around that time she became a full time partner at her law firm and Ryder got a steady teaching job in the Columbus school district, as a special education teacher. Their lives were surely going on the right track. During those months I had off from filming my show Sam decided to open his own studio, next to my school coincidentally. It was a great opportunity to show off his photos and art work and showcase other up and coming artists as well. We got teased endlessly by our friends for being the artsy creative couple. I think it just showed our dedication to all of the arts of the world. We may have put music on the back burner, but we somehow always found a way to incorporate it in our lives.

Sam and I arrived in Lima in early February for Kitty's baby shower, Sam was invited because Ryder was taking all the guys to the batting cages while we all oohed and awed over Kitty. It was a great time, Unique even flew in and brought Marley's gift with her seeing she didn't want to leave JJ. After a fulfilling weekend of just doing girly things with my friends I was more than ready to go back home. On our way to the airport Sam decided to take a massive detour to Lima and stop by McKinley. It was a Sunday so the school was closed but Sam swore he had permission for sneaking into the school. I'm just glad he didn't have us climb through the choir room window like we did senior year. Once back in the school I was immediately escorted through the halls, never allowed to stop by a room for too long, before I was thrusted into the astronomy room. It looked the exact same as all those years ago, probably even the same posters and pictures from when I went to McKinley. That all changed once Sam fell to one knee and proposed. To say I was shocked would be an understatement, I thought he brought us to our old school to be nostalgic not to propose. The kicker was that as soon as I said yes our parents came running in. They were in the next room over and we more than ecstatic at our news.

I got back to New York and went full on wedding planning mode. I may have frightened my friends a few times with my antics. I hired and fired about two wedding planners before convincing Kurt to help me plan. He was reluctant at first but no one could say no to me once I started to cry. It pays to be a professional actor and a great crier. Kitty was automatically picked as my matron of honor, so that was one less worry. I called Unique almost everyday to discuss dress ideas, she was willing to make my dress for me from scratch. I couldn't let her do that though, I did appreciate the sentiment though. We brainstormed tons of ideas before Rachel got me an exclusive appointment with Monique Lhuillier. My dress was a work of art, I may be a little biased but I think out of all the wedding dresses I've seen from my friends, mine was the best. I drove Sam crazy a few times too during our planning, I think he may have feared for his safety and my sanity a couple of times. The one thing we did agree on was to have our wedding in Lima, we had been to weddings in California and Chicago and even Columbus, but we felt like Lima was the one place we needed to be.

"Boring."

"Kitty!" Marley scolded her. "I think it's sweet, getting married in Lima."

"No, boring," Kitty continued. "You could have a real New York wedding and instead you pick desolate Lima freaking Ohio."

"I'm excited to go back to Lima," Unique added her input.

I sighed, I was never going to please all my friends, that was clearly evident by our four way telephone conversation. "Thanks for the support guys, except negative Nancy."

"I'm three days away from giving birth, hopefully, don't be rude," Kitty grumbled. Her pregnancy was the worst, stuck on bed rest for the last two months, she was miserable.

"No one is denying your right to be miserable," I assured Kitty with an eye roll. "Just stop incorporating it on my wedding talk or I will replace you as matron of honor."

"Do it," she threatened with laugh. "I dare you. Replace me with Rachel Berry and see how fast you'll come crawling back to me."

"Do they realize we're still on the line?" Marley joked.

"It's like they don't notice us," Unique laughed. "It's always been like that with the two of them though. Me, me, me. Never anyone else."

"When this demon spawn is out of me I will fly to California and kick both of your asses," Kitty threatened. "And I will do it with such pleasure."

"Love you too," Marley laughed and you could just hear the smile forming on her face. I loved these girls, as crazy as we all were, I would never trade them for the world.

So here I was, pacing in the back of the church waiting for the wedding to start. The dinner last night was fun and it was great to see both of our families together with our little wedding party, plus Mercedes, Mike, and Artie. I was a complete wreck though, I'd been waiting for this moment my whole life. I was always that girl who was secretly planning her wedding since she knew what a wedding was. I had color schemes and dress ideas all hidden in a notebook since third grade. I had wild fantasies of what this day would look like and now it was finally here. My father tried to calm me down but I knew my nerves were just from excitement. I was getting married to someone I wanted to spend my whole life with. We got the cue to take our places and I could feel the blood drain from my face and hear my heart beating out of my chest. Thank god for my father or else I would've fallen as I walked down the aisle. I locked eyes with Sam and couldn't see anyone else. It felt like I was in a movie, everything was moving in slow motion. I had blinders on, I couldn't see anyone else but my future husband. When I finally made it to the alter I saw Blaine who smiled wide at me through the obvious tears in his eyes. I was touched.

Everything was a total blur until I had to recite my vows, which I did through tears falling down my eyes. It made me reflect on my life, on my relationship. I was such a mess only a few short years ago and here I was, getting married to my best friend, surrounded by my friends and family. I could hear Kitty rolling her eyes behind me as I gasped when we were finally declared husband and wife. I knew she was happy for us but in true Kitty form she had to have some negative reaction to happiness, it's in her nature. I grabbed Sam's hand as we walked down the aisle and tried to say hi to as many people as I could see. Once the wedding was over it was picture time before I could hopefully relax and enjoy the upcoming reception. We had planned locations to take our pictures but I demanded that we stop at McKinley. I heard protests from a few people before I shot them a warning look that shut them all up quickly. I was pleased.

"The choir room," I suggested to the photographer.

"It's a computer lab now, remember," Sam told us.

"The auditorium?" I asked. "Yes! Actually that's perfect."

"Uh oh," Blaine laughed. "She has her thinking face on."

"Ryder, Kitty, Blaine," I called to them. "We'll take a few pictures of us in the auditorium with Finn's plaque."

"Buzzkill," Kitty unsuccessfully muttered under her breath.

"No, no it'll be great," I assured her. "We can take a few of just us then we can gather around the plaque. Man, it'll be great."

"You do know that you can't be Bridezilla anymore once you're actually married?" Ryder playfully asked.

"It's my wedding and I want to take a picture with Finn's plaque!" I exclaimed and stomped my foot like a petulant child.

"We will," Sam was quick to reassure me with a comforting squeeze on my arm and a smile.

"Thank you," I smiled up at him and stuck my tongue at Kitty and Ryder.

Picture taking lasted another half hour or so before we all packed back into the limo and finally made our way to the reception hall. I think we all were getting a little restless and hungry. I got my way though during out McKinley pictures so I was a happy little camper. Once we arrived at the reception all we were all whisked away to a little waiting room and finally got to eat on little finger foods while the cocktail hour came to an end. I was just ready to get out on the dance floor and see my friends. I had a quick wardrobe change, I wouldn't be able to dance properly with a ball gown on. Kitty had snarky remarks as she helped me change, that was her job after all, seeing she was my matron of honor. Sam was just goofing around with his siblings and Blaine, they were adorable nerds. We were finally given our cue to make our way downstairs and I was ecstatic, I was ready to get this party started.

We waited in the hall, Sam and I, as everyone was getting introduced. I could hear the crowd laugh and cheer as Kitty and Blaine made their way in. I knew without even seeing them that they were being outrageous, they were complete opposites but for some reason they just fit together perfectly. My nerves grew as the DJ began to hype our entrance. I don't know why, I've been around crowds a lot of my life and none of these people were strangers to me. I felt Sam grab my hand and I knew he could sense my nerves, he gave me a sympathetic smile before we finally made our way into the ballroom. Everyone was on their feet clapping and being overall excited to see us. Once the noise quieted down Blaine and Kitty grabbed microphones to serenade Sam and I for our first dance. As soon as I heard the opening note to the song I smiled wide. "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5 was a song that spoke to both Sam and I. It was our unofficial anthem, the lyrics just made perfect sense to who I was and who we had become as a couple. And of course it didn't hurt that Blaine loved Maroon 5, I could see friends of ours slightly laugh as the song began. They all knew that the song was Blaine's idea, Kitty was helpless in the situation.

When I finally got to sit down and enjoy myself for a few minutes I did just that. I knew it wouldn't be long before Sam and I were once again whisked away by the photographer for more pictures. We had to stop by every table to get a picture taken. It was great to see all of our New York friends at one table and enjoying themselves. I may have invited all my Lima friends but I could never forget about the new people in my life, Sam either. These people knew the new us, the adult, mature version of who we are. Taking a picture with all my McKinley friends was a handful. We were all hams and wanted to outshine everyone else. Rachel of course did her signature over the shoulder pose while the rest of us tried not to laugh. Thankfully I had another chance to sit and dance with my friends before it was time for the speeches from Kitty and Blaine. I'll openly admit that I'm a sappy person, I could easily cry at the drop of a hat, it's my thing. But to hear Blaine and Kitty speak so candidly and openly about Sam and I was nothing short of beautiful. Alongside Sam, those two people changed my life for the better. I love them dearly.

"I'm so happy!" I shouted over the music as I danced with Sam and Blaine at my side.

"Really?" Blaine asked sarcastically. "I would've never guessed."

"Shush," I scolded him with a playful smack to his arm. "I have every right to be happy."

"I'm so happy that you're happy," Blaine said sincerely and spun me around with a laugh. "You both deserve it more than anyone I know."

"You need to be happy," Sam told him and light heartily smacked his back.

"I'm happy," Blaine quickly assured us and did and effortless turn. "I don't need a boyfriend to validate my happiness. I have my friends and my career."

"You sure?" I asked him as I took one of his hands and one of Sam's and started to dance in a circle.

"Positive," Blaine smiled wide and took Sam's hand so we were all connected.

The celebration raged on all night that I barely got any sleep. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and all the company around me. I tried my hardest to dance with everyone. Besides Blaine and Sam, I danced with Artie the most. It was good to see him laugh and smile with everyone, he had fallen a little off the radar as of late so it was good to see him enjoying himself. I even was thankful when I saw Blaine dance with Jenna a few times, making sure she didn't feel left out. Sam danced with his sister and mom often, which warmed my heart. I felt privileged to now be a member of the Evans family. They were so loving and supportive of one another, it was really beautiful to see. My parents love me but we were never ones to openly show emotions to one another. I think my dad told me he loved me for the first time when I got into Brown. I didn't resent them for it, that was just how our family functioned. Stevie was a ham though, a minute version of his brother. He always found his way to the middle of the dance floor, making sure everyone's eyes were on him at all times. It was safe to say he enjoyed himself.

"Ladies is that Tina Cohen-Chang Evans entering?"

I rolled my eyes at Mercedes when I arrived at brunch. I sat down at the table and sighed at my comforting feeling the chair embraced me with.

"That's a mouthful," Quinn added.

"Wanky," Santana so eloquently interrupted.

"Are you going to change your name?" Brittany asked.

I reached for my mimosa and shrugged. "Probably not. Like Quinn said, that's a lot of name to have. Maybe I'll pull a Mercedes, professionally keep my maiden name but change it for personal things."

"Sam should take your name," Kitty suggested. "Shake it up a little."

"Oh, like you tried to convince Ryder to take your name?" Marley laughed.

"Ryder Wilde does have a nice ring to it," Kitty explained.

"Unbelievable," I muttered with a shake of my head.

"Where's Unique?" Rachel asked when there was a lull in the conversation.

"She should be here soon," Marley reassured us.

"Tina, you need to tell me where you got your reception dress," Mercedes said. "I need to own that."

"Betsey Johnson," I answered. "It was on her website for dirt cheap."

"It was stunning," Brittany agreed.

"I'll be back," Marley excused herself from the table.

We all stopped our conversations when we heard Marley squeal in excitement, Unique now at her side.

"I'm just so excited," Marley said to Unique as they joined the table.

"Excited about what?" Brittany asked.

"Unique got engaged last night!"

"That was my news to tell," Unique sighed with a playful smirk.

"Oh my god!" I excitingly exclaimed and reached for her hand. "I wanna see the rock."

Unique proudly showed off her ring and it was really gorgeous." He did good."

"Real good," Kitty agreed. "Ryder needs to step up his game next time."

"Well, congrats Unique," Rachel congratulated her and reached for a menu. "Sit ladies. I'm famished."

"So, Tina, any kids in your future?" Mercedes asked as the waitress took our orders.

"I've been married for not even a full day," I laughed around the rim of my coffee mug. "But yes, kids are in our future."

"They'd be so cute," Rachel added with a smirk. "Little blonde hair, green eyed Asian babies."

"Stop!" I playfully scolded her. "I just want to enjoy my marriage first before I even think about having kids."

"Oh, but it's fun trying," Kitty smirked.

"Yes it is," Marley agreed.

"Marley Rose, I am scandalized," Unique gasped with a laugh.

"You girls are crazy," Quinn concluded. "I love it."

I sat back in my chair and let the conversations around me fill my ears. It was the perfect end to a great weekend. I got to spend a full weekend back in the town that I called home for eighteen years of my life. I was surrounded by the people I had the privilege of calling friends and even family. We may go days, months, or even years without speaking to each other but once we were all together we could pick it up like time never passed us. Drama and past arguments were quickly resolved with a quick apology or a smile, no hard feelings were shared. I did briefly wonder how the boys brunch was going, hoping they were having just as much fun as us girls were. All of us were a tight family, loving each other unconditionally without thinking twice about it. And that's what I loved the most about this weekend, besides getting married, of course. These people had seen the many faces and attitudes of Tina Cohen-Chang and no one every batted an eye. They embraced me and all my flaws and still showed me love and honest support.


	7. Sam

**Sam **

"Sam, tell Tina not to worry. Your father and I are already at the church putting the final touches on the flowers."

"Thank you," I let out a sigh of relief. "Kitty said she didn't get much sleep last night, too worried about the damn flowers."

"This day means a lot to her, son," my mother sweetly reminded me. "Hopefully this is the only time she'll be getting married."

"Mom," I groaned, a little annoyed. "Thank you for stepping in last minute to take care of the flowers."

"Of course," she replied.

"I'll see you at the church," I reminded her. "Love you."

"Love you too, Sammy."

It was all a little too surreal, to be back in Lima for my wedding day. Just a little over ten years ago I wouldn't dare see myself anywhere else but here. I just grabbed my stuff and hopped on the first train back to Lima from New York and promised never to look back. The city life became too much for me and I honestly couldn't deal with it anymore. Finally getting my junk on the side of a bus smacked me back into reality. I didn't want to model, that wasn't my passion in life. I just tagged along because that's where all my friends were going. I had lost so much during my senior year in high school that I felt like I needed a new place to reinvent myself. I encountered so many things and people in New York that I just got overwhelmed. I had no one left there anyway. Yes, there was Blaine but he had Kurt, so there wasn't a real need for me in his life.

I got back to Lima mid afternoon and dropped my stuff off at the Hudson-Hummel house. Kurt had called his dad before I left and made sure I had a place to crash before I found a place to stay on my own. I needed to go to McKinley, I felt like I was drawn to it. It had almost been a year to the day of my graduation and I needed to see the school again. I had gotten updates here and there from Jake and Ryder but I didn't want to believe them without some sort of concrete proof. I walked the halls and all those emotions I felt came flooding back to me. I was obviously overwhelmed and even a little sad, I knew I didn't belong here either. A school I spent a large part of three years in and it didn't feel like home either. I walked directly towards the choir room, having slight tunnel vision as I walked. I had my blinders on, I couldn't see anyone or anything around me. I had one mission. I stepped in front of the door and I felt like my breath was taken away from me. Principal Sylvester had actually turned the choir room into a computer lab. That was a bit jarring to say the least.

"It's jarring at first but the sting eventually fades away."

"Thanks," I replied to the voice knocking me out of my thoughts. I paused, realizing the voice sounded familiar. "Unique!"

"What are you doing here?" She gasped as I pulled her into a hug. "Last time I checked you were half naked all over the buses and train stations."

"You've seen my ads?" I asked in awe. "Wait, don't you need to go to class?"

"Child," she scoffed with a smile. "I should be teaching the class I'm that good."

"Then let's go!" I said and grabbed her hand. "Catch me up on everything. Where's everyone else?"

"Class I suppose," she shrugged and clutched my hand tighter. "We'll sit in the quad until lunch."

I sat with Unique out in the quad and caught her up on all the happenings in New York. Well, just the stuff I knew she'd want to know. She tried her hardest to catch me up on all I missed, which apparently was a lot. She said it took a few months before they all could be friends again. Things just ended abruptly the year before so it was hard for them to find their footing once the school year started. I finally started to feel at ease at McKinley. I still had a pang of hurt in my chest but being around Unique did soften the ache a little. We promised to leave out all juicy stories for when everyone else was around. It was hard though. I was bursting at the seams with excitement and hope. We had to scold ourselves a few times, too excited to not just jump into an exciting story or two.

The bell rang and Unique dragged me into the cafeteria. I saw Marley's mom briefly and she smiled wide at me, it was great to have a little sense of normalcy. I spotted Jake and Ryder first, before even Unique did. They just looked at each other before they gave me a double take. Their smiles were contagious, I couldn't help but let out a grateful sigh when I saw them. Luckily they weren't carrying their trays before they both made a mad dash over to me. I've never been lifted off the ground before by two guys but Jake and Ryder attacked me and lifted me off the ground. They slapped my back a few times and just gaped at me in awe. I was really back and they couldn't believe it. Neither could I really. Once I got my barring again, Marley and Kitty walked into the cafeteria. I expected Marley to react the way she did, huge smile on her face and tears in her eyes. I did not expect Kitty to act in a similar way. She dropped her bag on the floor and literally ran to me. She jumped into my arms and never wanted to let go.

It was overwhelming. Feeling all the love and appreciation I got from my younger friends. The year before no one had the same reaction when the other McKinley alumni returned. We were grateful, but we didn't cry or hug the shit out of them. It was odd but also very telling of the rocky year these kids had, that no one really knew about. Once the school year was over we all tried to get together at least once a week, just to spend time together. After a few arguments and disagreements, Burt and Carole forced me to live with them and work at the tire shop a few days a week. I didn't want to impose, I did that most of junior and senior year. They kept reassuring me that I wasn't imposing, that I was family and had every right to live there. I just gave in eventually and thanked them for their generosity. By mid July we had decided to do a weekly movie night, just a chance to get us all under one roof for fun.

"So, we have to walk the whole house to get to your room?" Kitty asked and gave everything around her a judging look.

"My room is in the attic," I reminded her, the fifth time that day alone.

"Who's room is that?" Jake asked as we passed a closed door on the second floor of the home.

"Kurt's," I replied. "Can't you tell by the door alone? Pictures of New York and Broadway."

"Let me guess, this is yours," Ryder said and pointed to another closed door. The door was covered in McKinley Titans paraphernalia and some New Directions posters and pictures too.

"No," I was quick to reply and kept walking towards the stairs that lead to the attic.

"Then who's is it?" Marley asked.

I stopped and turned while sighing. A sigh that held so much. "That, that's was Finn's room."

"Oh," Unique replied somberly for the group.

"Yea," I nodded and turned back to walk the few more feet to the stairs not seeing if anyone was following me.

"S-so you lived here when he died?" Ryder asked as we all finally made it up the stairs and to my room.

"Yes and no," I shrugged. "Once Finn started going to Lima University I was the only kid home, so, I decided to slowly start to move in with Blaine. His parents were fine with it. I kept a few things here but around Regionals I was over at the Anderson's a lot."

"So you guys were like brothers?" Unique asked and took a seat on the sofa I had sitting in the middle of the room. She sighed and grabbed my hand once she heard me let out a shaky breath.

"Kurt was his bother," I said defiantly. "Me? I was like the foreign exchange student that spoke English really well and fit in perfectly."

The six of us just stood or sat around the room and let our collective heavy breathing fill the room. It was the first time since Nationals that we'd spoken openly about Finn. I felt like after giving them a little tour of the house they realized how much he meant and still means to me.

"Mean Girls?" Kitty asked and held up the DVD in her hand.

"Who let you pick again?" Ryder asked.

"I thought we said no home videos," Jake joked and winked at Kitty who flipped him the bird with her perfectly manicured nails.

During one of our movie marathons, probably Disney night at Marley's request, we decided to start a band. Music had been lacking in all our lives, it was the thing that brought us all together in the first place. In the beginning we all just treated it like a joke, never getting through a full rehearsal without a playful argument or just collapsing into giggles. That was until Marley took a leadership role and demanded that we acted seriously and then everything clicked. She took charge and turned our stupid idea into something legit. We were booking gigs all over Lima. Breadstix was our main go to place to perform, we were there almost every Saturday night. It was great to flex a muscle I hadn't really used in a long time and it didn't hurt that Marley's songs were really good. We just gelled really well together, all six of us. We didn't let any petty arguments take away from the task at hand. It was kind of like the choir room, outside issues remained outside. Burt would put flyers up in the tire shop to promote whatever gig we had booked that week. It was great.

School started back up and practicing became less frequent. They were all concentrated on school, rightfully so. It was their senior year after all. I tried to occupy my time as best as I could. I'd occasionally call and catch up on life with Blaine and Tina at times. Blaine would always try and convince me to come back to New York, he knew his words would always be met with a quick no. He tried though. I knew New York was different. I'd just have to turn on the TV and notice the change. Rachel was in Los Angeles filming her show, a show that I never missed an episode of. Mercedes was out west too being a music superstar. That was a little hard to adjust to. We had a clean and mature break up but it still stung. Seeing her succeed though made it all worth it in the end. I would send her encouraging messages when I knew she needed them.

I would spend all my free time working at the tire shop to earn some extra money. I refused to let Burt and Carole let me live with them without giving them some money for groceries or utility bills. It was only fair, I wanted to be treated like an adult so I needed to act like one. It did get a little lonely at times, I was on my own a lot. When the younger kids were at school I had nothing to do. All my friends were off in college or living their dreams while I was stuck in Lima. I called my family in Kentucky often, never really having the chance to see them. They were busy with work and my younger siblings were in school. I missed them and I thought about them all the time. I spared them the details of what my life was really like in New York. They knew about Mercedes and I briefly dating again but I refused to tell them about my last photo shoot as a model which made me want to leave the city for good. I didn't need them to worry about me.

"So, are you going to see if anyone shows up?" I asked Blaine during one of our weekly catch ups.

"I know Rachel won't," he causally replied and I could tell he was pacing the room.

"That's one down," I replied with a shrug. "Dude, we all promised that in six months we'd all meet back up."

"Are you going?" He asked.

"I can't," I let out a heavy sigh. "Burt and Carole went away for the weekend, leaving me in charge. Plus, the band booked a gig tomorrow night."

"Sam," Blaine said. I could tell through the phone that he was shaking his head. "You don't need to make up excuses with me."

"These aren't excuses!" I exclaimed and threw my hands up as a sign of surrender. "Blaine."

"I know," he spoke in an understanding tone. "I don't think anyone is going. Kurt and I decided to skip it, Artie too."

"So, that just leaves Mercedes and Brittany," I realized. "They're in the middle of a tour so that's a no for them."

"Guess so," Blaine sighed heavily at the realization.

Things started to change from that conversation. I dove headfirst into helping the younger kids get ready for college applications and essays. I may have decided not to go but that didn't mean I didn't want to help my friends. They would occasionally call Tina and Blaine for help but I was their main source, besides Miss Pillsbury. Unique was the only one dead set on leaving Lima, which came as a shock. The last two years a lot of us couldn't wait to leave this town but these kids wanted to stay. I was proud of them in an odd sense. The bands gigs slowed down a lot after that, once the new year began they were almost done with high school and they wanted to enjoy it as much as possible. I even helped them arrange a little senior lock in for themselves. It probably wasn't as epic as the one I had but I knew they would enjoy themselves.

During the graduation ceremony it finally sunk in that I was alone again. Even though four out of five of them were staying in Ohio they would become too busy for me, busy with school and part time jobs. I became a little reclusive after that. I either stayed home or in the tire shop, everywhere else reminded me too much of the things and people I missed. Blaine took that as a sign to reintroduce the idea of me going back to New York. Once again all I could do was tell him no. If I didn't feel secure in a small town like Lima, I sure wasn't going to feel at ease back in New York. When Blaine told me the news of him getting the part in My Fair Lady, I sucked it up and decided to head back to New York. Just for a weekend though, anymore time there and I don't know if I could survive. I would never miss the opportunity to see my best friend making his Broadway debut.

"It's good to see you, Sam," Tina sincerely said as we sat in the Brooklyn loft. "Blaine said you were a little apprehensive coming back to the city."

"Just holds a lot of memories," I nodded to her as I spoke, looking around the room waiting for Blaine and Kurt to hurry up making dinner in the kitchen.

"Visiting the city hasn't been the same without you," Tina told me with a shrug of her shoulders. "Kitty did say that you're flourishing in Lima though."

"Yea, you even ran into a interesting old friend," Blaine added as he joined in on the conversation.

"Oh my god!" Tina gasped and hit my arm like she was offended that I didn't share the story with her. "Who?"

"No one," I was quick to reply, shooting Kurt a pleading look as he walked into the room a second later.

"Penny Owens," Blaine laughed.

"Oh god," I groaned and buried my head in my hands in utter embarrassment.

"P-Penny Owens?" Tina asked. "Who is that? Oh my god! She was the nurse at McKinley senior year."

"She took her car into the shop a couple of weeks ago and Sammy here took care of her," Blaine continued to explain my story.

"I bet you did," Tina teased with a wink.

"Ugh, really guys?" I groaned. "I'm never telling Kitty anything ever again. She's a little gossip."

"You just realized that?" Tina laughed.

Being in New York for the weekend actually ended up being a lot of fun. I got to spend time with my friends and forget about all the stuff that was happening in Lima. Once I did return to Lima I did talk to Kitty about her new found love for gossiping about my life. In true Kitty form she just shrugged and rolled her eyes as I spoke, she could be so infuriating at times. A month or so after my visit Tina called and told me that she was applying to NYU for her senior year of college, meaning she was moving to New York. I was extremely happy for her and a little jealous. I sat in my room at the Hudson-Hummel house and just reevaluated my life. What was I doing? I was still living with my friends parents and working in a garage, with no really future in sight. I thought returning to Lima would give me some sense of accomplishment or purpose, but I felt lost. The people I thought that needed me really didn't need me anymore. They were all off in college and enjoying their youth while I was wasting mine away.

After a lot of consideration and taking it over with both Carole and Burt, I was moving back to New York. They could tell that I was starting to feel out of place, like I

was itching for something more, something different. They helped me pack all my things into a few duffle bags before they dropped me off at the train station and I was on my way back to New York. Blaine was on board with the idea the moment I brought it up, even though I had no real place to stay. I toyed with the idea of crashing with Artie but he didn't have enough room for me. I realized I could take Rachel's old room, until Blaine told me that Tina had already claimed it. I guess I was back on the couch, which strangely didn't bother me that much. I was back in New York and back around my friends. The kids in Lima had a hard time saying goodbye to me again but this time I promised to keep in contact with them as much as possible.

This time in New York I approached things differently, I wasn't afraid anymore. I also got to spend a lot of one on one time with Kurt. Blaine and Tina were in class or work a lot so that just left the two of us. It was Kurt that told me about the local YMCA offering art and photography classes that I decided to sign up for and take. I assume Blaine had told him about my brief love for macaroni art during senior year. It was good though, I got to spend time with other creative people and just spread my creative wings once more. I took to it like a moth to a flame, it was a great outlet. Tina dragged me to see Blaine in My Fair Lady at least once a month. After Tina and Blaine graduated things got a little bit shaky around my loft. Artie took off on the first flight out to Los Angeles, never really looking back. Kurt got a job in on off Broadway musical and Blaine was still doing this Broadway gig full time. I had the opportunity to showcase my photographs and art pieces in galleries around Brooklyn. Tina though, Tina was stuck. She kept getting rejected for roles she was sure she was perfect for and I know from experience that that feeling will crush anyone. At first no one noticed it but Tina had changed. She started drinking all the time to numb that pain which turned into her never leaving her room or even speaking. We all tried our hardest to help her but she just flat out refused.

"I hate seeing her like this," Blaine sighed as he, Kurt, and I sat around the kitchen table.

I looked behind me briefly at her closed privacy curtain. "We're running out of options at this point."

"Everyone has tried to call or text her and she just ignores them," Kurt added and gripped Blaine's hand tighter.

"Maybe we should call in the big guns," Blaine suggested.

"Her parents?" I asked. "I-I don't want to get them involved, they'll just make things worse."

"No," Blaine shook his head. "Kitty."

"Kitty?" Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow. "She's your secret weapon."

"Trust me," Blaine assured his fiancé. "If anyone can knock some sense into Tina, it's Kitty Wilde."

"It's our only option at this point," I shrugged. "I'll call her and let her know our plan, when we have one."

Kitty came in and did exactly what we needed and expected her to do, kick Tina's ass. As soon as Kitty declared herself finished and walked out the loft we all heard a sob escape Tina's lips. Kitty was nasty and mean and brutally honest with Tina and it was kind of refreshing to hear. We'd all skated on thin ice around Tina for so long that to see someone be harsh to her was awe inspiring. That may sound mean or cruel but Tina needed to good swift kick in the ass. When she finally had the physical and mental strength to emerge from her room finally I made sure to help her along the way. I didn't pry into anything or try to psychoanalyze her in any way, I let her come to me and let her be. I was the first one to hear her laugh again. I was being my typical self, doing impressions and goofy voices when out of nowhere really, Tina honest to goodness laughed. It was music to my ears, a laugh I despised the sound of for so long, the whole cackling noise she makes when she laughs, anyway. It was marvelous to hear.

Once Tina was back to as normal as she saw fit, I got back into my art and photography. She really helped me too, along with Blaine and Kurt. They helped me update my portfolio at least once a month. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed being behind the camera instead of in front of it. I lived in a city that was filled with amazing architecture and people that it wasn't hard to find something to capture that caught my attention. I was surrounded by endless beauty. I finally started to feel complete, professionally at least. I was still lacking in the relationship department. I was so consumed with work and helping my friends out that girls and relationships took a back seat for a while. Once things started to settle into place I did go out on a few dates here and there but no one really stuck. I grew up a little too, I realized that not every relationship had to be _**THE**_ relationship. I could enjoy casual dating. That all came to an abrupt halt once Kurt and Blaine broke up. It just felt wrong going out on dates when my best friend had just ended the most important relationship in his life, thus far.

It was fun living in the loft though. Blaine, Tina, and I were enjoying the little more space we received once Kurt moved out. It was just odd that the two original loft owners were now living together in Manhattan. Rachel moved back to New York just in time for Kurt to shack up with her. Once we all found our footing with the living arrangements Mike and Mercedes announced their surprise engagement. Well, it was a surprise to me and Tina. I was ecstatic and excited for them but it did sting a little. Mercedes and I ended our relationship years ago but it still was shocking to see and hear her move on with someone I considered a close friend. But if Mike made her happy then I was happy for them. I assume by her reaction that Tina felt the same way. A couple of months after their announcement we were all off to Los Angeles for their wedding. It didn't really hit me until I had dinner with Mike, Mercedes, and Tina that they were actually getting married.

"Sam, where are you going?" Blaine asked as he lounged on the hotel bed in the room that we were sharing.

"To see Tina," I answered and laced up my shoes.

"Why the bottle of tequila?" He asked curiously.

I stood up and checked my pockets for my hotel room key and phone before nodding over to Blaine.

"So you're going to see Tina and bring her a bottle of alcohol," he reiterated.

"Yep," I nodded.

"Sam!" Blaine exclaimed and quickly sat up. "Do you not remember the struggle she had just a few short years ago with alcohol?"

"Crap," I cursed at the realization. "So, bad idea?"

"Just proceeded with caution," he warned me. "Are you okay though?"

"Yea," I nodded, a little unsure. "Yea. I'm fine."

"Sam."

"Stop," I sighed. "Mike and Mercedes are happy and getting married tomorrow. If anyone is allowed to wallow in self pity for a while it's me and Tina."

"Ok," Blaine assured me. "Just be careful, please. If not for yourself then for Tina."

"Got you," I replied and headed out of the room and walked across the hall to Tina's room.

So I learned my lesson, feelings of vulnerability and alcohol don't mix well with me and Tina. Last time we let our guards down around each other we ended up making out senior year of high school. This time, this time we ended up sleeping together. We were drunk on tequila and feelings of loneliness and regret and we let our emotions take over us. I don't regret it, I never will, but it was awkward the next day. It was a secret we promised to never share with anyone. I spent the entire time during the reception dancing and trying to forget the night before, I would close my eyes though and still feel Tina's hands in mine or the feel of her kiss on my lips. Blaine and especially Santana side eyed me a lot during the reception. I just kept smiling and dancing though, without a care in a world. I wasn't bothered by what happened so I wasn't going to let them see me sweat.

Back in New York things started to pick up. Blaine eventually left My Fair Lady and joined the cast of Newsies as the lead, I was so ecstatic for him. I knew that was a role that he'd talked about over and over again. A role I knew, even with my limited knowledge of Broadway, that he was perfect for. We made a big deal out of his opening night, we all dressed up in our best outfits and supported him like Blaine had supported us so many times before. It felt like everything clicked into place with all of us. Blaine was killing it each and every night while Kurt was flourishing in off Broadway productions while writing his own stuff on his downtime. Rachel came back to New York with a fiery passion, landing a role in Wicked. I dove head first back into my art and photography as Tina opened her own acting school with her friend from NYU, Jenna Taylor. It was good to see her be so passionate again, using her powers for good instead of evil.

A year or so later after Mercedes and Mike got married I was on a plane heading to Chicago to see Brittany and Santana marry. That was a good party. The most noteworthy part of the wedding was the reemergence of Puck and Quinn, with a baby boy in her arms. That threw a lot of people for a loop. They had basically fallen off the face of the earth for a while only to reemerged married with a kid. Oddly Rachel had taken their news the hardest, Kurt refused to leave her side while we were in Chicago, always checking up on her. When we got back to New York we all just let Rachel deal with any issues she had by herself, we all had learned the hard way from Tina. Never approach someone until they were ready, but let them know you were available if and when they needed you. Shortly after Brittany and Santana's wedding, Mike and Mercedes had little Mikyla. That realization slapped me in the face, hard. Things got really real then. We were all growing up and doing adult things. Shortly after Mikyla's birth, Destiny was adopted by Britt and Santana. That made three kids by three of my friends who were now married. We were all in our mid twenties now so marriage and family were just a natural occurrence, I just didn't realize I was secretly wanting that for myself.

A year into his role in Newsies, Blaine left for London for a few weeks to open their West End production. It was great, I finally got to sleep in a bed after literally spending years on a couch that wasn't all that comfortable. It was good to spend some quality time with Tina too. We were both so busy with work and life that we hadn't really had a chance to just sit down and hang out. Her school had just moved to a bigger location and it was doing great. Blaine, Rachel, and Kurt taught a class whenever they had a free moment to, it was awesome. Cooper Anderson even popped in once or twice to lend a hand. Just made me remember junior year of high school with a shake of my head and a laugh. But, to have Blaine gone for a few weeks gave me the perfect opportunity to speak candidly to Tina.

"Confession," I announced as I walked to the couch, passing Tina the sandwich I made for her.

"Thank you," she replied. "What's your confession?"

"Remember when we slept together before Mike and Mercedes wedding?" I asked biting my lip, trying not to show my nervousness. I watched as Tina slowly nodded her reply. "I think we should do that again."

"W-what?" Tina choked out her reply.

"Fact: we're both in relationship slumps," I casually mentioned. "I haven't been on a date since god knows when. The last two weddings we went to, you were basically my date. And lord knows when the last time you went out."

"Rude," she huffed and sat back on the couch. "True though. But I'm too busy with work to actually date someone."

"That's why we should sleep together," I brought up my initial idea. "Like friends with benefits."

"That doesn't always work, Sam," she reminded me with a skeptical eye. "Someone is gonna catch feelings and someone will get hurt."

"That's why we're setting up ground rules," I replied and bit into my sandwich to distract myself.

"Okay," she finally answered after a few minutes of us sitting in complete silence. The only noise in the apartment was the bustle of outside.

"Okay?" I asked in utter shock.

"I'm down," she tried to joke with a straight face.

"Sweet."

To say that the relationship I began with Tina was a little baffling would be an understatement. I went into the agreement just needing to scratch an itch I had. I would be the first to admit that I hadn't had the best luck in the relationship department. With Quinn I was just trying to figure out what kind of boyfriend I wanted to be before she ended up cheating on me. I was young and naive and so overcome with emotions that I just went to the next person who showed me attention, Santana. That relationship was beyond bizarre in retrospect. She was clearly in love with Brittany but I was too blind to realize it obviously. She did help keep my mind off things though, my dad losing his job and us ending up living in a motel. We ended abruptly but I didn't really care, I had other things on my mind. Mercedes came into my life, the first time, at an odd time. We had a summer full of laughter and love and I up and moved to Kentucky. Coming back to Lima I had one goal in mind, getting my girl back. The second time was filled with ups and downs and then she was off to Los Angeles to be a star. I guess the third time was a charm. We were both two different people by that time. I loved her unconditionally and I knew she felt the same. Those months together is something I'll always cherish. Dating Brittany just let me be a kid again, I had gone through so much the year before that it was just great to be reminded that I was still a teenager and had every right to act like one. I treated it like a grand romance when we both knew we were filling a void our exes had left us.

Things started to shift a year or so into my agreement with Tina. I can vividly recall the exact moment where I realized that it wasn't just about sex anymore for me. We were in the bathroom, I was developing my film, she was sitting on the closed toilet seat and we were just aimlessly taking about work and life and I felt like I was hit by a brick. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and laughed at something stupid I probably said and it all clicked. In all honesty, it scared the ever living shit out of me. I hadn't felt this way in such a long time that it knocked the wind out of me. I hopefully covered up my bewilderment up without her noticing. I didn't want to bring it up without being absolutely sure of what I was feeling, because I had no clue. Tina was my best friend, a best friend that I regularly slept with. Besides that though, she was a great person. I didn't know if I felt this way because everyone else around me was falling in love and growing up. Brittany and Santana had just adopted Chris and I got jealous. I always thought I would've been the first one of my friends married with kids, things change though.

Blaine started to notice the change too. He had caught Tina and I making out at least twice and he didn't even seem like he was bothered by it. Which was a little baffling. He sat us down and told us that he wasn't taking sides if anything went south between Tina and I, which I respected. Around the same time of my revelation of my feelings Marley and Jake got engaged and were having the wedding of the year in Los Angeles. I went with Blaine and Tina and Tina was my unofficial date, like always. It was strange going to another wedding with Tina and not calling her my girlfriend. Every time we danced together I kept getting side glances from Santana and Kitty. Apart they were scary but together always frightened me. I knew I had to eventually step up to the plate and tell Tina how I felt but I was deathly afraid, what if she didn't feel the same. I would've honestly be crushed, making plans for a future together just to be shot down, again. Once we got back to New York I forced Blaine to have a bros day with me, I really needed to talk to him.

"Okay, you're freaking me out. What's wrong?" Blaine asked as we sat in a cafe downtown.

"I want you to promise me that you will not judge me or tell me 'I told you so'. Okay?" I asked in one strained breath.

"Okay," Blaine replied with a laugh and sipped casually at his latte.

"I'm in love with Tina," I blurted out sheepishly. I studied my friends face for a reaction, not receiving one. "Hello! Blaine? I just told you I'm in love with Tina."

"I know," he nodded nonchalantly.

"That's it!" I exclaimed, shocked over my own outburst. "No, no lecture or something."

"Nope," Blaine shook his head and smiled his signature smile at me. Fucker. "Sam, I knew you were in love with Tina before you knew, probably."

"Wha-h-how?" I stuttered out.

"It was obvious it stopped being just about sex with the two of you a long time ago," he explained. "You seem to forget that I know you two pretty well."

"Probably better than we know ourselves," I scoffed.

"Exactly," he nodded all knowingly. "So, don't worry or panic. You love Tina, that's great. Trust me when I say things will work out just fine."

"Yea?" I asked a little unsure.

"Oh yea," he replied in agreement.

After Blaine and I spoke, I told Tina how I felt and surprisingly she felt the same. I was officially Tina Cohen-Chang's boyfriend, it sounded odd but felt so right at the same time. I loved her and that's all the mattered really. She was my best friend, my partner in crime, besides Blaine of course. News traveled quickly among our friends and no one seemed too shocked by the news. Great, thanks guys. Things got a little difficult around the loft around that time, I was finally off the couch and sleeping with Tina in her bed. Blaine was busy with work but when he was home he gave Tina and I privacy. We tried our hardest to include him but it did get difficult at times. We wanted our alone time but we also didn't want Blaine to feel like we didn't need him in our lives anymore. It was stressful. Now that we were officially together we got back to pounding the pavement for work. Tina got a great opportunity to appear on some show for FOX, courtesy of Rachel. A walk on role that turned into her being a main cast member a season later. I was so proud of her, we all were. I never missed an episode, always making sure my schedule was clear so I could see the show live. She was remarkable and made Marie Cho such a lovable character even though she wasn't supposed to be.

Tina's star was soaring high and it gave me more than enough inspiration to start moving my own career forward. Kurt suggested that I submit my photos to magazines like National Geographic, but I didn't want to travel. My life was in New York and I couldn't see leaving ever again. Showing my art and photos in galleries around New York could only take me so far. I had seen the success Tina had with her school so that semi inspired me. I talked it over with a few people and they all agreed that I should open up my own studio space, kind of like Tina. I could show off my work and also showcase up and coming talent along the way. The studio idea took a backseat for a few weeks while we all fly down to Ohio for Kitty and Ryder's wedding. They had gotten engaged after she passed the bar and had a really short engagement. Ryder had just gotten a really good teaching position in the Columbus school district and Kitty was now a practicing lawyer, taking Tina on as her first client. I was shocked when Ryder asked me to be his best man, I was expecting him to ask Jake. I gladly accepted though. It was great to see my friends again too, Marley was mere weeks from having little JJ at that time.

After we all returned from the wedding Blaine had dropped the bomb that he was moving out. It shocked the hell outta me. The loft would definitely not feel the same anymore, that's for sure. He reassured us endlessly that his moving out had nothing to do with the upward progression of Tina and mine relationship. At Kitty and Ryder's wedding everyone kept teasing Tina and I about marriage, asking us when it was our turn. That spooked me a little, were we really ready for it? We had been together for a few years and everyone else around us was getting married and having children, it was the next logical step actually. I talked it over with Blaine and he kept telling me that it was my decision to make and he couldn't influence it. I asked Kurt, Jake, and Ryder too. They all agreed with Blaine. Rachel wanted to go ring shopping the second I mentioned the idea of marriage, she obviously wasn't much help. It took Kitty getting pregnant and having her baby shower to really get me in gear. I got the perfect idea of when and how to propose, now I just needed a ring.

"Why'd you ask me?" Blaine asked as we went to our third jewelry store of the afternoon. "Rachel would be better at this than me."

"Rachel would be shopping for her own ring," I scoffed. "That Jesse already bought, by the way."

"Jesse's proposing!" Blaine exclaimed excitingly, that got a few of the other customers to side eye him. "Why am I the last to know about it?"

"We were all double dating last week and he might've accidentally told me," I replied nonchalantly. "He gave me ring ideas."

"Then why didn't you ask him to shop with you?" Blaine asked and moved to the engagement ring display case.

"Like I would take anyone else with me to ring shop for Tina?" I snorted. "I need my best friend to help me, dude."

"Thank you," he said sincerely and patted me on the back. He crouched down to look at the rings better and smiled wide. "How about this one?"

I crouched beside him and inspected the ring he was pointing at. I didn't know much about jewelry but Kitty had given me specific instructions as to what I should get. "Kitty told me to get nothing less than two carats."

"Of course," he shook his head in amusement. "This is two and a half carats, princess cut. It's perfect."

"How are you good at this?" I asked honestly and looked over at a wildly smiling Blaine.

"She helped me ring shop for Kurt, remember?" He asked which made me nod quickly. "She had specific criteria for her own ring. A big one due to her build and the promise of a few kids would change her figure."

"She had a ring picked out over ten years ago," I sighed at the realization and went back to examine the ring Blaine picked out. "This, this one is good, right?"

"It's perfect, Sam," he assured me. "Tina will love it because it's coming from you."

"Yea," I nodded in agreement. "It'll be perfect on her finger."

Proposing to Tina was the most overwhelming and daunting thing I probably ever had to do in my personal life. First, I had to keep it a secret. I kept the ring at Blaine's house so she wouldn't get suspicious and try to sneak around. I was hoping and praying that Kitty or one of the girls wouldn't open their mouth and let my secret out. We went to Ohio in early February for Kitty's baby shower and Ryder's guys day out at the batting cages. Instead of heading straight to the airport I made a massive detour to Lima and McKinley. I kept getting suspicious looks from Tina but I just reassured her that we weren't going to miss our flight and that there was a method to my madness. I lead her into the astronomy class room and just started to reminisce about our time at McKinley and all memories that the school held for us. I tried not to be overly cheesy, but I couldn't help it. I reminded Tina that in the exact room we were standing in was where we first kissed and began our love story. I dropped to my knee and proposed with an enthusiastic yes as a response.

I had one other surprise left for her, I had both of our parents surprise her. I had called them the day before and asked them to meet us in the school, telling them my entire plan. Tina's parents were so excited and my parents couldn't wait to see Tina's reaction. I may be a little biased, but my proposal was probably the most romantic and creative, aside from Blaine's, of course. I created a monster though, once we returned to Lima, and after she stopped gushing with everyone, Tina had one goal in her mind. Wedding. That's all she talked about, that's all she ever talked about. At work all she talked about was wedding details, dresses, flowers, and whatever else she could talk about. I finally opened my own studio to showcase my art along with other artists, it was located right next door to Tina's acting school. Which was good and bad for numerous reasons. I got to see her all the time, when she wasn't on set, but I got to see her all the time. By that time she was so consumed with all the wedding plans and details that I just sat back and let her take complete control. She just told me when and where I needed to be and that was it.

It may see like I didn't care about our wedding but I did. I cared a lot, I cared enough to give Tina the creative freedom she wanted. We both decided to get married in Lima in the fall because we knew how beautiful it would be. We both also decided on a small wedding party, Blaine was obviously my only choice for best man. Tina wanted Stacey and Stevie as our junior brides maid and best man and I couldn't have agreed more. It was a honor to have my little brother and sister be a part of my wedding. Telling them the news was especially great. Mom was overjoyed as well. Picking my other groomsman was difficult. I had so many options, which was overwhelming. I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings or make a big deal out of the whole thing. I did the one thing that I never wanted to do, a made a pro and con list. Blaine was proud of me and Tina just rolled her eyes, even though I knew she was doing the same thing. I ended up choosing Ryder. He had chosen me to be his best man so it was only fair that I returned the favor.

"I may pee myself," I jokingly confessed as I paced the back room in the church.

"I don't think that's in the best man contract," Blaine replied wearily. "Cleaning up the grooms pee."

"Tina will kill me if I bail, right?" I asked rhetorically. "Think I can pull a Miss Pillsbury and sneak out the back unnoticed. You can wear my suit and marry Tina, she'd appreciate that."

"Breathe. Relax. Calm down."

I looked over at Blaine who was clam and collected, I was so jealous. I took a few deep breathes myself. "I'm getting married. To Tina!"

"I know," he laughed "I helped pick out the ring, dude."

"Tina," I scoffed with a shake of my head. "God, I hated her in high school. She was like a lapdog, trailing behind you all the time and cramping our bro time but I love her."

"I'm glad you're sticking to traditional vows," he teased and straightened my tie and fixed my suit jacket over my shoulders, picking off pieces of imaginary lint.

"Sam, Blaine, you're needed," my dad popped his head in and gave me a reassuring smile. "Crowds getting restless out there."

"Coming," I told him and turned to Blaine. "Thank you for sticking by my side, B."

"Anytime," he assured me and ushered me out the door with a comforting pat on the back.

Standing up at the altar with Blaine next to me was a surreal experience. I could see every single person in the church, all my friends and family. My mother was trying not to cry while Tina's nana openly wept. I tried to remain calm as my brother and sister walked down the aisle followed by Ryder and Tina's friend, Jenna. Kitty walked in by herself and tried to steal the show. She knew if Tina had saw her she would've killed her. Everyone rose as the wedding march music began and I had to hold my breath as Tina walked down the aisle with her father. I didn't want to tear my eyes away from her but out of the corner of my eye I saw Blaine looking directly at me. Tina looked perfect, indescribably beautiful. I never realized how I much I truly did love her until that exact moment. I could close my eyes and relive that moment over and over again and be okay with it. I was marrying my best friend.

Getting through my vows was one of the most difficult things I probably ever had to do. I'm not very good with words and speaking in public in the first place but to openly speak my emotions and my feelings was daunting. I gave up halfway with trying not to cry, I was more than allowed to. Tina was crying, so, I was going to cry too. I was overcome with emotion anyway. When Blaine placed the ring in my hand and I slowly placed it on Tina's finger I couldn't stop smiling. My face physically started to hurt I was smiling so much. I could see Kitty standing behind Tina giving us her best eye roll. I think she forgets that her fake bitchiness doesn't really work on us anyone. We cracked her shell years ago. When Tina and I were announced husband and wife I couldn't contain myself, I let out the loudest yell I could muster up. After years of struggling to find a lasting love and relationship, my search was over. After attending wedding after wedding after wedding and seeing baby after baby being born, it was now my turn. Everything finally fell into place perfectly.

I finally had a chance to relax and regroup once the whole wedding party was in the limo and heading to different locations to take pictures. We made a stop at McKinley to take pictures in the astronomy room and then the auditorium, around Finn's plaque. It took some persuading but Ryder, Kitty, and Blaine eventually gave in to Tina's whines. We went to a local public garden to take the final photos before arriving at the reception. I was pumped to get on the dance floor and to finally eat something. I watched alongside Tina as our friends were being introduced before we were once again announced man and wife in front of everyone we cared about. I watched as all our friends left the dance floor, except for Kitty and Blaine, who sang our wedding song. I pulled Tina into my arms tighter and just smiled and swayed with her as our friends sang to us. It was really beautiful and touching. My friends really did understand my relationship perfectly.

"We're married," Tina marveled as we danced to our friends singing.

"We're married," I laughed with amazement. "This isn't a dream, Teen."

"Your mom fixed the flowers perfectly," she told me. "This whole day is perfect."

"Who would've thought that we'd be here all those years ago?" I asked as the DJ called other couples to the dance floor. I smiled as Ryder got up and moved over to stand near Kitty as she sang.

"You helped save me during my darkest days," she remembered fondly. "Kitty's harsh and truthful words and you making me laugh again."

"As much as it sucked to see you suffer, you came out stronger because of it," I smiled down at her before giving her a chaste kiss.

"Congrats you guys," Unique greeted us as she began to dance next to us.

"Unique, you look beautiful," Tina complimented her. "I'm glad you made it Isaac."

"It's great to finally meet you," he told her. "And congrats."

"Thanks man," I thanked him and patted him on the back that proudly showed off my wedding band.

I got to sit for a blissful ten minutes before I was dragged back up for more pictures. We had to go to each and every table, ten in total and take group pictures. My mother held tight to me during the Evans family picture. She was adorable. Tina's nana did the same to her during the Cohen-Chang family photo. The table that held all our friends from New York was a delight to be a part of. These people knew the adult version of Tina and I. No past dramas or mistakes to cloud their views of us. They took us at face value as just accepted us as we were. It was no doubt about why Tina had chosen Jenna to be a bridesmaid, besides being business partners. She was a cool girl, fit well with the old friends of ours. She and Kitty together, which was rare, was lethal. How Tina ended up with two bizarre best friends was beyond me. Luckily she had Blaine, Kurt, and Rachel to balance them out. Going by the McKinley tables and taking pictures with them took the longest. We all were attention and camera hogs, we all needed to look perfect. Santana and Rachel were fighting to get perfect pose and the right angle before the picture was snapped. Thank god our photographer had patience and knew how to deal with clashing egos.

Thankfully all the posed photographs were done with so I could now fully begin to enjoy myself. When I wasn't being pulled in a million directions by family and friends I spent as much time as I could on the dance floor. Every girl requested to dance with me and I obliged as best as I could. My time was so limited that I think I squeezed in two girls during one song. Each one sharing their congratulations with me before I was being pulled off the dance floor to talk to someone about something. I hardly even saw Tina, she was being pulled around as well. I saw her across the ballroom and waved to her, acknowledging her presence. Blaine was a great best man, always making sure I was where I needed to be at the exact time I needed to be there. He did constantly remind me to enjoy myself and have fun. When I the chance to sit again it was time for the customary toasts. I grabbed Tina's hand as our friends began to candidly speak about us. It was kind of surreal, being told to accept the praises from people.

Kitty made Tina cry, which really isn't that hard to do honestly. It was good to see the vulnerable side of Kitty shine through, not many people saw the side of her. Motherhood had softened her a little. Blaine was next and I have to admit that I did shed a tear during his toast. He was so honest and open, typical Blaine really. He was really the only one who had a front row view of the craziness that was my relationship with Tina. A relationship that started as pseudo friends that turned to true friends that slowly turned into a mutual love and respect for one another. I wouldn't change it for the world, it was far from conventional but it was our love story. I got the chance to be on the dance floor again and this time I was dancing with both Tina and Blaine. It was good to be with the two most important people in my life, just us three. I would've never guessed that fifteen year ago when I started McKinley that these two complete strangers would mean so much to me. Tina was just a girl in glee and Blaine was someone I didn't even know until Kurt started talking about him. I guess I owe Kurt a huge thanks for bringing Blaine into my life.

"Shots."

That's all I needed to hear from Blaine before I gave Tina a quick kiss on the cheek and joined my friends by the bar.

"What are we toasting to?" I asked as I reached for my shot glass.

"Finn," Puck replied.

"Man," I somberly groaned.

"He's here with us," Puck defiantly told him with a pat on my back. "He's always here with all of us. He's been there for every step each and every one of us has taken."

"Preach," Artie whispered.

"So gentlemen, raise your glass for the man, the myth, and the legend that was Finn Hudson," Puck instructed as we all raised our shots in the air before downing them.

"Miss you buddy."

"I've missed you guys," Artie was the first to speak. "We can't let another ten years pass before we see each other again. Weddings shouldn't bring us together."

"When do you head back to California?" Kurt asked Artie.

"Tomorrow afternoon," he answered and slammed the shot glass on the bar with a loud clank.

"Bros brunch tomorrow," I suggested and looked at all my friends. "Our flight to Puerto Rico leaves in the mid afternoon. The girls are planning to get together for brunch so why not have a bros brunch."

"I'm in," Puck said as everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Awesome. Tomorrow at noon at the Lima Bean," I told them. "Now excuse me gentlemen, my wife beckons."

I went back to Tina and spent the rest of the night by her side. Either speaking with friends or twirling her around the dance floor. Even when we both danced with other people we were right next to each other. The obligatory cake cutting ceremony was just that, a ceremony. I didn't want it to be cliché but Tina just had to smash a piece of cake in my face. It was vanilla butter cream so I didn't object. Payback was a bitch though. I may have smeared cake all over her face and neck and hoped my parents or Tina's nana wasn't watching as I licked it off. I don't think we made it back to our hotel room until the sun was rising. I probably got two hours of sleep before I had to drag myself out of bed and make my way over to the Lima Bean. All I was looking forward to was seeing my boys and the largest cup of coffee money could buy. Brunch was great, eating fattening food and filling up on caffeine seeing we were all either hung over or tired from lack of sleep the night before.

We filled all each other in on our lives, I felt like I was in high school again. I was surrounded by the few people I could be myself around. People who knew me when I didn't even know myself yet. Blaine filled us in with his plans to visit everyone during the winter break. I promised to hopefully join him in visiting Kitty and Ryder in Columbus. I was a little distracted though during our conversation, I was just too damn excited about going to Puerto Rico. I was going to spend the next five days in paradise with my new wife. My wife. I was never going to get over saying that. I was utterly and completely happy, probably the happiest I had ever been in my adult life. I couldn't wait to see what the future held for me.


	8. Quinn

**Quinn**

"So Noah's mom has the kids tonight," I told my mom as I spoke to her on the phone. "He's dropping them off now because I really need to hop into the shower."

"Is everything okay with you two Quinny?" She asked.

"Mom," I sighed and laid my dress on the bed so it wouldn't wrinkle. "We are fine, everything is fine between us."

"You don't have to lie to me, baby," she tenderly reminded me. "I've been in your situation before with you father."

"We're fine," I repeated sternly. "After twelve years together Puck and I have finally got our relationship right."

"Okay," she eventually gave in, or at least she wanted me to believe that she gave in. "Have fun and give Sam and Tina my love, please."

Going back to Connecticut was a bittersweet moment all those years ago. I said goodbye to my friends after the graduation ceremony and was on the next flight out. Going back to Yale and to my dorm room weighed heavy on me. Did Biff get back and was he already throwing my name in my mud? I had embarrassed him so I was fearful for his retaliation. He now knew so much about me that he could ruin my good name amongst the people I tried all year to impress. I gathered all my things and decided that I wasn't going to spend my summer wasting away in Lima with my mother. I was finally feeling independent and free, so I called Puck. We had parted after graduation, he needed to return to South Carolina. He invited me down to spend as much time as I could with him over the summer. I packed and shipped a lot of my stuff back to Lima and just kept my clothes and a few pictures with me as I bought a bus ticket and headed south. It was going to be a long journey but I was making sure I was more than prepared for it.

Seeing Puck and being forced to live out of a suitcase in a ratty old Bed and Breakfast helped me learn about myself. I always claimed my independence and used it as a badge of honor, I never truly realized how independent I was until that summer. I knew Puck would be busy most hours of the day, so I only got to see him at least once a week for only a few hours. I did think about packing up and heading to Lima almost once a week but I was more than determined to make our relationship work and last. That summer I busied myself as best as I could. I toured the Air Force base my second week there, trying to get a sense of what Puck was up against everyday. The end of August came around and I had to tearfully say goodbye to Puck and head back north. I was ready though to start my second year of college.

The one upside of going to Yale, besides the great education, is that it's a large school were I can blend in. All throughout high school I had to make sure that everyone knew my name, knew who I was. In college people could care less about Quinn Fabray and that excited me. I got to focus on my classes and myself and that's all that really mattered. It was early on in the second year that I decided to major in social work and minor in women's studies. I wanted to help people, be the light at the end of the tunnel for others. I had my friends and a few adults help me when I was pregnant with Beth and then again after my car accident, I wanted to make sure no one felt as lost and hopeless as I felt. Fix my karma by giving back just seemed right to me. It also helped that I became deeply passionate about what I was learning too.

"So Rachel has her opening night in Funny Girl in a few days," I causally motioned to Puck during our weekly phone conversations.

"Okay."

"I was thinking about sending her flowers," I told him and hi-lighted another paragraph in my sociology text book.

"You're not going?" He asked and I could almost hear him smirk.

"I wasn't invited, really," I huffed. "Whatever. I'm still excited for her though."

"How noble," he replied dryly.

"So I'm sending her flowers," I repeated. "From the both of us."

"Why?" He asked.

"To show our collective support for her," I answered with a sigh. "Noah, we've been through his before. This is how a functional relationship works. We are a cohesive unit."

"Whatever," he scoffed. "Sign my name, sure."

"What's your problem?" I asked sincerely.

"I'm not really concerned with Berry's opening night," he explained. "Yea, I'm happy for her but I've got other priorities to deal with."

"Like?"

"Like learning how to not die in combat," he replied sarcastically. "The Air Force is the real fucking deal, Quinn."

"I know that," I reminded him and dropped the pen from my hand. "I don't want to fight. We always fight when we talk."

"Sorry," he apologized. "I'm just stressed."

"I'm sorry," I gave in and apologized too. "I can't even imagine how much you're put through each day, but I'm stressed out too. Midterms are coming up and I don't even feel prepared."

I hated fighting with Puck, it seemed like that's all we did when we talked. We were both under a lot of stress and pressure and had no outlet to vent to but each other. I knew he didn't mean it when he snapped at me, I didn't mean it either. School took up all of my time and I was starting to get a little homesick. I didn't miss Lima per say, I missed my friends and the classrooms and the normalcy of it all. Walking down the halls of McKinley and seeing my friends by their lockers with a smile on their face when they saw me approaching. My days started to get redundant, wake up and go to class. There wasn't any time to be spontaneous. I missed that, that part of me that dyed her hair pink and got a tramp stamp of Ryan Seacrest. I didn't miss the feelings I had during those times but the feelings behind why I did that. The controlled chaos that I had burning inside of me. I was obviously spiraling out of control but my true friends showed me their unconditional love and support.

School took up all of my time but once summer came around after my second year I was back on a bus and heading back to South Carolina. Puck was more than halfway done with his basic training so I got to see him more often. On his days where he was busy I busied myself with being a tourist again. I even went to Mercedes' show at the local mall. I purposely stayed in the back so she wouldn't see me. It was great to see her up on stage, Santana her opening act and Brittany dancing for both of them. I was more than proud of the three of them. I was a little embarrassed afterwards. Out of everyone that stepped foot into that choir room, I would say that I was the only realistic type of person. I knew the odds of getting a job in show business. That's why I always stayed concentrated on academics. I didn't have the vocal ability like Rachel or Mercedes or the dance moves like Brittany and Mike. I was average. It just hurt to see everyone around me achieve their dreams while I did what was expected of me. School and getting a realistic job with stability. I didn't regret choosing the path that I was on, it just made me wonder what kind of life I would've had if I chose a different path.

During the beginning of my last year in college Puck was transferred to a base in New Jersey. He was a lot closer and it was much easier to see him on the weekends. I believe that him being closer made our relationship stronger. It's not like we didn't have our arguments and misunderstandings like every other relationship but we knew that we had been through to get where we were. Only the two of us knew who we were and who we had become, together and apart. He wasn't the same kid that threw Kurt in the dumpster and who slushied Rachel just for the fun of it. Was he perfect? No, never, but he had overcame so much in his life that made him a great man. He had a good family in Jake, a relationship that took forever for either of them to fully understand. Puck was upset that he couldn't see his brother graduate high school. I can't really say what their relationship means to them fully but as a witness to it, it's magical. That's why I was overjoyed when Puck got the chance to join my mom and watch me graduate from college with honors.

"We should get married."

I stopped taping up the boxes in my dorm room and looked over at Puck with a raised eyebrow. "Are you proposing?"

"I guess," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't have a ring or anything but, yea, I'd like to marry you."

"You know marriage is like a huge commitment, right?" I asked and sat on my empty bed with a huff.

"I know what a marriage means," he scoffed and sat next to me. "I love you Quinn. Like you said back at McKinley, I'd rather do hard with you then easy with someone else."

"Wanky," I quoted Santana with a laugh. I shook my head and smiled wide. "Let's get married."

"Something small," he quickly suggested. "Just us, our moms, and Jake and Sarah."

"When?" I asked, standing up to finish packing up my room. "I start graduate school in less than three months and you're back in New Jersey."

"I'm done with the Academy," he announced.

"W-what?"

"I was talking to the heads ups and they want me to be a recruitment officer in schools up north," he announced. "Like New England."

"Oh my god, Noah!" I exclaimed happily. "We can finally, fully be together."

A few months after I graduated college I was living in a shoebox apartment outside New Haven, Connecticut. I would've complained about the lack of space or breathing room but I was ecstatic, Puck was living with me. He was officially done with his training and was now free to move about. I was settled on living by myself and going to school and working but to have Puck by my side at all times was pure perfection. Whatever we fought about while we were apart seemed to have ended once we were actually together. During the day I was going to graduate school to get my license in social work and at night I was working at the local hospital. Puck spent his days doing speaking engagements at the local high schools talking about the importance of the Air Force and serving your country. We tabled the marriage talk until everything was stabilized in our lives. In all frankness, I was afraid. I wanted to marry him, I did. I just realized how much of a commitment marriage actually was, we'd both came from broke homes. How were we supposed to make something work when we didn't have any good examples around us?

On Christmas break though both our moms visited along with Sarah, Jake, and Marley, who had just gotten back together. Her mom had just died a few months before and we gladly invited her into our home for the holidays. It was a nerve racking experience to have so many people over for not only Christmas but Chanukah as well. The week between Christmas and New Years, Puck and I decided to take the plunge and get married. It was small and extremely intimate. We went to city hall and got married by the justice of the peace surrounded by all our family. I wore a simple white dress and carried a tiny bouquet of red roses. Jake served as best man while I had both Sarah and Marley as my maids of honor. Both of our mothers cried, so did I. I was finally happy, like really happy. Not happy for anyone else but myself. At twenty two I felt fulfilled personally, I didn't need or want anyone else in my life. I had found my perfect match in Puck.

Married life wasn't all rainbows and butterflies, I never expected it to be. There's a lot of give and take that makes a marriage work. A small ceremony and a piece of paper wasn't going to solve any of our issues. If there was one thing Puck and I knew about marriages it was what a bad one looks like. We had a perfect example of what not to do. We had to be honestly and truthful with each other at all times, no matter how difficult it may be to hear or see. We also decided to keep our nuptials private, everyone that needed to know already knew. It stung that I helped decide to keep my friends in the dark. Almost everyday I had the urge to call Santana, Brittany, or Mercedes and share my news. Our lives weren't intertwined anymore, they were now a part of my past. I cherished my time with them and our memories but I needed to keep my past where it belonged. After eighteen months of school, I graduated grad school with a master in social work and my license. I was ready to put my degree and skills to good use, hopefully. I enjoyed the hospital I was working in but that's not my long term goal was. I wanted to help girls who I could relate to. If I was going to spend hours upon hours each day working, I needed to be passionate about it. What better way to deal and resolve my issues with Beth and Shelby then to help other girls or teens who are dealing with the same issues. Months of searching paid off when I got a job at a shelter for unwed mothers, some were teenagers and some were older women too. I enjoyed working there and helping as best and as much as I can. I came home from work every night feeling fulfilled, like I helped someone that day, that my work paid off. Puck was enjoying his speaking engagements too, being able to tell his story to an audience who he knew may understand him.

"Umm Noah?" I called to him as I sat on the closed toilet seat.

Puck threw open the door and just gawked at me for a moment. "W-what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I quickly assured him.

I looked down at my hands then back up at my husband with a smile. "I'm pregnant."

"You're pregnant!" He excitingly exclaimed. "Oh my god, you're pregnant."

"We're gonna have another baby," I laughed and stood up to be engulfed in Puck's arms.

"We're gonna do this right," he stated with such assurance that it shocked me.

I set up a doctors appointment a few days later to confirm that I was indeed pregnant. It was a great feeling to know that I was once again carrying a little life inside of me. Being pregnant with Beth was a blessing but I was young and far from ready to be mother. I was ecstatic to know that Puck and I were going to have another chance at being parents, doing it right this time too. I tried to keep the news to myself and not cause a riot amongst our families. Puck stepped out of the doctors office and called his mom right away, so much for keeping it private for a while. A few weeks later I called my mom and shared the good news with her. I was ready to be a mom again, I had just finished graduate school and received an offer from an agency to work their full time. I had stability in my life so bringing a child into it was just perfect.

The day I found out I was having a boy was also the day that Puck and I received the wedding invitation from Mike and Mercedes. I wanted to go and celebrate my friends but I knew I couldn't. By the time their wedding came around I would be eight months pregnant and I couldn't fly to Los Angeles. I was heartbroken when I had to RSVP no without any explanation. I knew Mercedes was going to be heartbroken too. She was a great person, a great friend and I couldn't be around on the most important day of her life. Puck was upset too, Mike was a close friend of his as well. They hadn't forgotten about me, us, and I was just willing to throw away her invitation without a reason or explanation. I desperately wanted to call her and apologize and explain my situation to them, but I couldn't. Puck and I had agreed that no one but family would know about our marriage and our child on the way. It was complicated and I couldn't even fully understand it but it worked for us. I ended up seeing pictures of the ceremony all over social media, it looked beautiful, Mercedes looked beautiful.

On August 25 2019, little Aaron Charles Puckerman was born. From what I remember it was an easy birth, my mom joked that I was a pro at giving birth by now. A joke I didn't appreciate at the time. It was surreal to be surrounded by the same people when I gave birth to Beth, minus Mercedes of course. Aaron was a good baby, he took to Puck right away. He was a great father, I could tell back in high school that he would be. The moments I saw him with Beth told me that he was destined to be a dad. He was determined to be the opposite of what his father was to him and Jake and I admired that immensely. Aaron was only six months old by the time Puck was transferred to New Hampshire, so we moved. Connecticut was beautiful but New Hampshire was beautiful too. It was a quiet place, a great place to raise a family. We finally got settled in when we received another wedding invitation, this time from Santana and Brittany. I couldn't say no this time, I had no logical reason to. Before I knew it we were flying to Chicago, all three of us. We were ready to show all of our friends that we were married now with a baby boy. Seeing our friends again did make me nervous but I had to face them eventually.

"I'm glad you got your happy ending."

I stopped short outside the ladies room during the reception and just stared at Rachel. A very drunk Rachel I might add. "Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment," she slurred. "You ruined my life."

"Rachel," I sighed. "You're drunk, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, but I do," she laughed and wobbled on her feet. "You made Finn fall in love with me."

"Rachel," I tried to sooth her with a touch of reassurance on her arm.

"Don't," she spat out, taking my hand off of her. "Don't you dare touch me."

"I'm sorry," I apologized, not really knowing what for. I just knew that she needed an apology.

"He-he loved you and you slept with his best friend and got pregnant," she scoffed. "Only if you stayed faithful he would've never came into my life."

"Rachel."

"Stop saying my name like that!" She demanded. "He's gone and it's all your fault that I feel this way." Rachel slumped against the wall with a heavy sigh that turned into a gut wrenching sob. "He was just supposed to be the star football player that joined glee, not the love of my life and it's all your fault."

"What do you want me to do?" I asked and stood next to her against the wall.

"Turn back time," she whispered, tears and mascara streaming down her face. "Yo-you ruined my life, Quinn. I'm not supposed to feel this numb all the time and it's your fault."

"I'm sorry," I apologized again, meaning it this time.

"Not you're not," she scoffed and wiped the tears forming again. "If you were sorry you would've left me alone and been married to Finn with your beautiful children back in Lima. Now you're married to his best friend and have two children with him. It wasn't supposed to happen like this."

"Things change," I reminded her.

"I hate you Quinn Fabray," she spat out and peeled herself off the wall before walking away, never looking back. Leaving me completely stunned.

The confrontation with Rachel shook me. I went back home the day after the wedding still not feeling completely okay. Puck worried and I could tell that Aaron sensed that something was off with me. I just returned to work that Monday and acted like nothing happened. I knew that Rachel was dealing with a lot after Finn died, we all were. I just didn't know that her grief and anger went that deep. Deep enough to blame me indirectly for her heartache, blaming me for something I did over ten years ago. I couldn't even blame her fully, not really. I thought the same things, how would I have felt about Finn's passing if I was in Rachel's shoes? If he and I were still together like I planned all those years ago. Would he still be alive because he was with me, or was his fate already determined before we even met. I couldn't let that get to me though, I had a life to live. I had a child and husband I needed to devote my time too.

I just kept trucking on though, Rachel's words never really leaving my mind. After Aaron's first birthday Puck and I traveled back to Chicago to meet the newest addition of our little family, Destiny. Brittany and Santana's little girl that they had adopted, she was adorable and it was great to see two of my oldest friends and moms. Aaron took to her as well, he would just babble on and on every time he saw her. After a quick trip to Chicago we flew to Los Angeles and paid a surprise visit to Mike and Mercedes, who was pregnant at the time. I felt complete during that trip, I got to reconnect with old friends. I was so preoccupied with the Rachel drama during the wedding that I forgot to enjoy myself and the people around me. I tired to ignore and hide their importance in my life for so long, but I couldn't. Not anymore. They were with me when I was at my lowest and never left. Why would I leave them when they needed me. I kind of became Mercedes' pregnancy guru, seeing I did it twice already. It was great to see Jake and Marley too while we were in Los Angeles. Puck got to see his brother and just reconnect with him.

Going back home felt bittersweet. I was ready to go back to work and my day to day life but I knew I was going to miss my friends. I even suggested moving to Los Angeles a couple of times to Puck. Our life was in New Hampshire tough, we built a life and family here. It was odd once I realized that out of all my friends from high school I kept in contact with the ones that lived the farthest away. I knew Kurt, Rachel, Sam, Blaine, and Tina lived in New York, but I couldn't talk to them. I didn't know what or if Rachel said anything to them about our little disagreement. I hadn't even told Puck about it, I didn't need to bring him into another one of Rachel and my blow ups. It was something I tried not to think about often but then there were times when it consumed my thoughts. I'd be at work talking to a seventeen year old girl who reminded me so much of myself at that age and I would just zone out and relive Rachel's rant. I had no one to talk to and after over a year it started to consume me again, eat me alive from the inside.

"Noah."

"Quinn."

"Remember when we came home from Santana and Britt's wedding and you asked me if something was wrong and I said no?" I asked as I put Aaron down for a nap on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

"Yea, sort of," he replied. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Rachel and I had a little talk," I continued, walking out the room and into the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and took a sip to calm my nerves.

"About?" He asked, waiting for a further explanation.

"Finn," I sighed and leaned up against the counter. "Well, it wasn't a talk per say it was more like Rachel venting all her frustration."

"About Finn," he echoed my words and moved to stand next to me. "What did she say?"

"I ruined her life," I told him. "We ruined her life actually."

"How?"

"Me cheating on him and getting pregnant," I replied quietly. "I-we were the reason they fell in love and why she had to grieve for him."

"That's insane!" Puck exclaimed. "No-no she can't blame you for that. That's bullshit."

"N-Noah, will you just listen," I tried to calm him down. "And lower your voice, Aaron is sleeping."

"Sorry," he apologized. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"I tried to ignore it," I scoffed at my own words. "But lately it's all I can think about. What if she's right, what if I'm the reason Finn died?"

"No," he stopped me. "I won't let you think like that. I refuse to have you think like that."

"You can't control my thoughts," I argued.

That started the problems that Puck and I are still dealing with. We don't communicate well with each other, we don't trust each other. I'm afraid to tell him things because he immediately wants to protect me. I appreciate it but I am more than capable of taking care of myself. I've been through enough in my short life to know what to do. I didn't let him know how frustrated I was though. I refused to let him see me upset. We had to keep up appearances anyway. I tried desperately to get pregnant again, maybe that would solve something, anything. I knew that having another baby was a horrible solution but I was desperate. We both had become complacent in our lives. Work was getting boring, for both of us. We had lost the passion we once had for our jobs. We kept up the front to our friends and family that we were happy though, cause we were. There were pure moments of happiness between us, usually they came due to Aaron, but they came. I love my son and I would never let him see me struggling.

Mike and Mercedes had Mikyla and a year later Santana and Brittany adopted Christopher. Then Shelby and Beth reemerged in our lives. We had always had an open relationship with them, sending cards for birthdays or emails when something pivotal in our lives happened that we wanted to share. I have pictures of Beth on her first day of kindergarten on our refrigerator, I was proud of my little girl. We lost contact after a while though, once we moved to New Hampshire and had Aaron. I knew that they were still living in New York, Shelby still running her Broadway day care. Facebook was a great invention. I would've gotten updated via Rachel but we still weren't talking. Maybe it was because everyone around me were having kids and expanding their families but I missed my baby girl. Shelby randomly called me one day and I immediately panicked, thinking the worst had happened. It hadn't, she just wanted to catch up. As if our relationship had never been strained before.

I had my first child back in my life but that still didn't quell the issues between Puck and myself. It caused more tension. We didn't know how to cope with our daughter back in our lives on a more permanent basis. We didn't even know how to explain who Beth was to Aaron. I had no one to vent to, I kept it all bottled up inside. I didn't feel right to burden anyone with my issues when they all had their own lives to deal with. I pushed it all aside when I got pregnant again. My pregnancy relieved some of the issues around the house, not all of them. I was ecstatic, having another child was what I was praying for. Then Jake and Marley got engaged and were having a lavish ceremony in Los Angeles. Puck was the best man and they wanted Aaron as the ring bearer. So, we were once again off to the west coast and putting on another show. Puck and I agreed that no one was supposed to suspect anything between us. We were happily married with two kids and another little girl on the way. That was our story and we were sticking to it.

"Sam," I smiled at him as he spun me around the dance floor. "What's up with you and Tina?"

"Nothing," he was quick to dismiss me.

"Sam," I repeated more sternly.

"Oh no. Momma Quinn voice," he teased with a smile. "Nothing is going on between Tay and I."

"Then why do you keep looking for her?" I asked with a raised eyebrow in curiosity.

"She's my friend," he replied.

"Unique is your friend but I don't see you staring at her longingly," I told him. "You know you can tell me anything. You're one of my oldest, truest friends."

"I can say the same thing to you," he countered. "Everything okay with you and Puck?"

"Perfect," I answered rather quickly, too quick.

"Quinn."

"Sam, I'm about to have another child," I reminded him. It took me a few seconds to realize that we had stopped dancing and were just standing still in the middle of the dance floor. "Noah and I have issues, yes, but we're fine. Trust me."

"Are you sure?" He asked and brushed a piece of hair out of my face. "I know you Quinn, really know you. Don't lie to me, please."

"We're fine," I reassured him with a strained smile on my face. "Work is difficult and this pregnancy hasn't been easy and Aaron is a handful, but we're fine. I promise you Sam Evans."

"Okay," he said wearily.

"So, back to you and Tina."

"Quinn," he groaned and spun me around until I laughed.

The wedding was a success and I was more than glad to welcome Marley into our family. I now had a partner in the Puckerman family. I didn't know her very well, other than stories when I occasionally spoke to Jake but she was a good girl, the perfect girl to be my sister in law. I knew she was an aspiring songwriter, working with Mercedes. Everyone raved about my pregnancy belly and how we were all excited for me to have my little girl. I was too, I always wanted a little girl. I get to do things with her that I hadn't had the chance to with Beth. Once again, once we returned back to New Hampshire, Puck and I were complete strangers. I powered on though, for the sake of Aaron and my unborn baby. Everything was crumbling around us though. He was stressed, we were stressed. He was stuck at work, there wasn't any room to move up once you became a public speaker for the Air Force. I can't speak for my husband, but I think he forgot to think about a long term plan when he joined the Air Force.

I had to push that aside when Cora Rose Puckerman was born October 21, 2023. She was my perfect little angel, I was over the moon. She had Puck and Aaron wrapped around her finger the moment she was born. I was so grateful for her presence, she brought my husband back to me. I saw the old Puck again, the man I fell in love with. He was kind and attentive and made sure all my needs were met. He adored me again and I appreciated it immensely. I was jealous of my daughter though, she got the purest man my husband could be. I got the forced one I knew he had become. I loved Puck and it was killing me to know what our relationship had come to. We were too proud to ask for help, from each other or outside sources. After being together for close to ten years we assumed that we could just sweep everything under the rug and keep trucking on as a happy couple.

We put on our happy faces again when Marley had little JJ in the summer on 2024. Aaron and Cora had a little cousin now. Puck was thrilled that his little brother was now a father, and that same month Sarah graduated from college. It was a spectacular month for the Puckerman family. I was turning thirty and felt as complete as I could be in my life. I was married to a man I had loved since I was a teenager and had two beautiful, adoring children. Nothing would or could ruin that. Despite all the issues my marriage may have I knew that Noah still loved me, we were just stuck. I was constantly afraid that he'd resort to his old ways of pushing people away once he started to feel something. I knew that he had changed since then but the past does have a way of catching up to people after a while. When we got our invitations to Sam and Tina's wedding I smiled to myself, knowing that I knew about them before they did. Puck was reluctant to return to Lima but I hoped it would do us some good, going home for a few days.

I was afraid to see Rachel honestly. We hadn't seen or spoken to each other since Brittany and Santana's wedding. Every other wedding I've been to she wasn't there. I was avoiding her, that was obvious. I walked into the church for Sam and Tina's wedding and immediately spotted her. I clung to Puck a little tighter, not even worrying how obvious I was being about it. If she wanted to mend things, she needed to come to me. She was the one who had issues she needed to deal with. I tried to contact her once or twice before, sending pictures of the kids to Shelby with a message to pass them along to the New York crew, especially Rachel. I didn't want it to seem like I was rubbing my life in her face, I wanted her to be apart of it. I never got anything in return from her so I just dropped the issue. Puck thought I was stupid for trying to mend a relationship that I never really even cared about. He didn't get it, I never expected him to anyway. Rachel and my relationship was complex and far from normal but it was ours.

"It's so great to see you, Rachel," I greeted her. I spotted her during the cocktail hour while I spoke to Marley and Jake. I knew then that I couldn't let this fight go on any longer. "It's been too long."

"Five years," she reminded me. "You walked into Britt and Santana's wedding with Aaron in your arms."

"And he just started the first grade," Puck laughed. "You look good Rach."

"You too Noah," she nodded. "I got the picture of Cora you sent me via Shelby."

"Yea, we still keep in contact with her and Beth," I explained. "Can't believe she's the same age I was when I got pregnant with her."

"Times flies," Rachel strained to laugh. "You guys should really come down and see us soon."

"We were thinking about taking a trip to New York during Spring break," Puck replied and patted Artie on the back as he went by us. "Show the kids the city and finally meet their sister."

"That-that's great," Rachel smiled.

"Why is this so awkward?" I finally asked the obvious question. We were exchanging pleasantries like nothing was going on between us. "We use to be so easy around each other now look at us."

"I'll excuse you two ladies," Puck said before hugging Rachel briefly and walking away.

"Things got weird," she stated. "I had a lot of pent up anger in me and I took it out on you and I'm sorry, Quinn. I'm really sorry."

"You were, and still are, grieving," I simply replied. "You suppressed so much of that fear and hurt that it finally culminated and I was the target."

"You shouldn't have been," she apologized and played with the tool on her dress as a distraction. "You have every right to be happy with Noah and your beautiful, beautiful kids."

"A happiness you never can have with Finn," I quoted her verbatim. "You know Rachel, a lot of what you accused me of is true. If only I had stayed faithful to Finn all those years ago you would be just another girl to him. You would never had to deal with his loss the way you have."

"It's not fair to you," she reiterated in a shaky voice. "I was still a kid back then, not knowing how to deal with my emotions properly. I've gotten help since then."

"Good," I nodded. "I didn't come here to rehash old arguments and hurt feelings. I came her to celebrate this joyous occasion with old friends."

"Let's do it then," she finally suggested and grabbed my hand. I knew then that we weren't back to being perfect but we would get there eventually and that was more than okay with me.

I felt more at ease during the reception. I think Sam and Tina knew something happened between Rachel and I because even though we were seated at the same table our seats were on opposite ends. I was glad that I got to look over at her and share a genuine smile with her though. We had more things we needed to work out but we were progressing positively. Brittany and Santana made sure I was up on the dance floor at least every other song. I hadn't seen them in so long. Brittany thought of the genius idea of having our kids marry each other. Santana kept claiming that she didn't want her daughter to become a Puckerman. It was great to just laugh with them and enjoy myself too. I gushed over Mercedes pregnant belly, last wedding everyone was gushing over me. I was informed by my sister in law that there was going to be a mandatory Puckerman family dinner the next day before we all flew home. That just seemed like a horrible idea.

I kept my part of the charade that Puck and I were putting on though. I didn't want to take away any of the attention away from the newly married couple. I would see him from the corner or my eye talking to someone and just look so vacant. If he was just open and honest with me I don't see why we'd have so many issues in our marriage. I wasn't a saint, I had my demons too. It was hard to keep a smile on my face when I wanted to scream at any chance I got. All these people who knew me, really knew me. I couldn't lie to them, I was never good at it anyway. I caught the looks Mercedes would give me from time to time, she could tell something was eating at me. I just kept reassuring everyone that everything was fine and they didn't have a reason to be concerned. My marriage was stable and fine. I had my children to worry about, they need both their mother and father.

Sam was a delight, he could read me better than I could read myself. He swept me off my feet to dance and just forget everything. We didn't speak much as we danced but I know he noticed something. He was my saving grace, always sweeping in to take care of me. I didn't want to put him on that high of a pedestal but he knew what I needed. Just an exchanged of looks and I could breathe again. Tina was a lucky girl. Santana and Brittany made me laugh every chance they got, a true genuine laugh I forgot I even had. During the toasts from Blaine and Kitty I got to see a side of Sam and Tina I didn't even know existed. I was out of the loop on so much. I was secluded in New Hampshire, a self imposed isolation. I swore I didn't need these people in my life once I left McKinley but I did. I was always set on leaving my past where it was, sometimes though you need your past to help mold your future. So, when Tina said all the girls were getting together the next morning for brunch I didn't even think twice when I agreed to go.

Brunch was a great stress reliever. All of us girls fawned over Tina's dress and shared pictures we took the pervious night. I felt like I was in high school again, sitting in the choir room waiting for class to start. Unique walked in sharing joyous news that she got engaged the night before, we were all ecstatic for her. Marley causally reminded me about our family dinner later that night, that no one was really looking forward to honestly. Mercedes was the first one to tease Tina about possibly having kids, even though she wasn't even married a full day yet. We all added out opinion about how adorable their kids would be. After brunch we said our goodbyes, not really knowing when we'd all be together in the same room again. Rachel was next in line to get married seeing she and Jesse had gotten engaged a few months ago. I wasn't holding my breath for an invite to that wedding. I spent some time with my mother and the kids before making the journey to my mother in laws house for our dinner.

"I'm glad you're all here," Puck's mom told us as we sat around the kitchen table. "There are some things I'd like to discuss."

"Oh god," Jake groaned from across the table from me.

"Jacob, listen to Cheryl," his mom scolded him.

"Sorry," he sheepishly replied and gave Cheryl his full attention.

"Noah, Quinn, what's going on?" She bluntly asked and casually passed a plate to me.

I took the plate and looked bewilderedly at my husband. "Umm, what's going on? N-nothing."

"The kids aren't here," Cheryl reminded us. The kids were in the living room, Aaron watching over Cora and JJ as they ate. "We can be honest and frank here."

"We-we're having issues," Puck answered with a heavy sigh. He looked over at me and I just nodded my head in agreement. It was actually good to speak of this out loud. "For a long time now."

"It started right after Aaron was born," I continued. "We stopped talking to each other. Everything became superficial."

"Communication is key," Jake's mom, Jackie spoke up. She looked a little sheepish as she spoke but I gave her a true smile to let her know she wasn't overstepping by speaking up. "I don't know your relationship but I know a few things about relationships."

"Have you tried counseling?" Marley asked with a shrug.

I knew Puck would be too proud to admit to having a problem, so I knew that suggestion would fall on deaf ears.

"I've been speaking to one," Puck admitted. I gawked at him in utter shock and awe. "After work, twice a week. The Air Force provides a counseling service for free so I took up the offer."

"And you didn't tell me?" I asked through gritted teeth. I didn't want the rest of the family to notice how shocked I was, too late though.

"I'm the main source of our problems," he admitted with a sigh. "If I worked my shit out maybe it'll help fix whatever is broken between us."

"Noah," I called to him and took his hand, squeezing it to get his full attention. "We both have things we need to deal with, but this lack of communication is really hurting us."

I couldn't fully comprehend that a dinner that I was dreading to attend actually may have saved my marriage. That dinner was the first time in a long time where Puck and I spoke. Spoke about things other than bills or work or our kids. We had the full support of our family and we actually listened to each other. It was baffling. We saw eye to eye on so many issues we didn't even know we were actually having. The dinner turned into a mini marriage counseling session and I left my mother in laws home feeling a little more at ease. It was like I was holding my breath this whole time, I was finally able to exhale. Puck and I weren't back to where when were at the beginning but I did see the light at the end of this long tunnel I was in. I can't say that things were gonna be perfect but a step forward is a step in the right direction.


End file.
